In Eckleburg's Eyes - 4/14/2008

My family and I had a terrific weekend in New York. Throughout the trip, we had virtually no traveling glitches, and most importantly my family (i.e. my mother and I) did not kill each other.

On Friday my mother and I were left to our own devices for the first time without my father or our guide, NTC. We reserved tickets to the tour of Yankee Stadium and proceeded to the Bronx via the subway. While this sounds like a dangerous proposition, it went remarkably smoothly.

We arrived and found that Ticketmaster had inexplicably booked us for the 9 am tour despite the fact that we were calling at 10:30! An accommodating ticket booth salesman rescheduled us for the 1 pm viewing. This worked out great as it gave us time to eat and shop.

We first went into the Yankee Team Store, located just outside of Gate 4 I am a huge Lou Gehrig (1903-1941) fan and I purchased a replica jersey from the Cooperstown Collection to commemorate the trip. It was the only preplanned souvenir I bought. My only regret was that the jersey has Gehrig’s name on it. (The Yankees are one of three Major League teams who do not incorporate personal names on team uniforms.)

Upon the recommendation of the aforementioned ticket box employee, we ate lunch at Billy's Sports Bar and Restaurant (located at 856 River Avenue, Bronx). To my knowledge, the restaurant has no ties to former Yankee Billy Martin (1928-1989). It was your average sports bar, but my open face Reuben sandwich hit the spot.

We then had our tour of Yankee Stadium, the home of the 26-time World Champion New York Yankees. We would have attended a game but the team was in Kansas City and Boston while we were in New York. The tour was one of the highlights of our trip, entertaining even my mother who is not a baseball fan. Our exceptional veteran (Read: been at the stadium since dirt) tour guide took us to four areas of the stadium: Monument Park, the dugout, the clubhouse, and the press box.

Since 1932, the Yankees have honored their greatest with monuments and plaques at Yankee Stadium. Today these are situated in Monument Park, accessible via the Field Level staircase at Section 36, Monument Park opens when the gates open and closes 45 minutes prior to the start of the game, subject to capacity restrictions. The shrines are situated just outside of the playing field in the outfield. Naturally, I was most interested in Gehrig, a first baseman from 1923-39. On July 4, 1939 he became the first Major League Baseball player to have his uniform number retired. Dying of ALS, it was on that day that he famously proclaimed himself “The Luckiest Man on the Face of the Earth.” His plaque was dedicated on July 6, 1941 - one month after his death.

We then made our way to the dugout. My mother and I sat where many past and present Yankees have. The Yankees are one of few team to have protection in front of the dugout, not required by Major League Baseball. This was done after Don Zimmer was hit by a sharply hit foul ball batted by Yankee second baseman Chuck Knoblauch during the 1999 playoffs. The next game, Zimmer wore an army helmet with the word "ZIM" painted on the side and the Yankees logo stenciled on the front.

We then proceeded to the Yankee clubhouse. We were instructed ad nauseam not to take photographs inside the Yankees inner sanctum. Noteworthy was that Thurman Munson’s locker reamins as it was on August 2, 1979 - the day his self piloted plane crash killed him. Even after Septemeber callups, rookies will double up in a locker before using Munson's.

Also notwothy was that Mariano Rivera’s had the biggest locker. He will be the last player in MLB history to wear #42. The number was retired league wide on April 15, 1997 for Dodger Jackie Robinson (1919-1972)’s contribution to baseball. Rivera was wearing the number at the time and when he retires, so will the number.

We also learned the history of the Yankee jersey. The interlocking "NY" logo was originally designed for an award given to a New York City police officer for bravery by famed jeweler Tiffany & Co. It caught the eye of the Yankees and became their logo in 1913.

Our tour concluded in the press box. We were shown where “George Costanza”’s office would have been. (Read: “Seinfeld” reference.) The home press (and leftfielder Hideki Matsui’s local Japanese paper) sits in of three rows and the visiting media sits in the last row. Mom and I were visitors on this day.

We saw where p.a. announcer Bob Sheppard (b. 1910) sits. He has been with the team since 1951. Reggie Jackson referred to him as the “Voice of God.” Though he is presently out of commission due to a bronchial infection, Yankee captain Derek Jeter had his personal introduction recorded so his voice is still heard at every game.

The tour was fantastic. It is sad that this represents the final season at Yankee Stadium. The site will host this season's All-Star game (on July 15) for the last time.

The New Yankee Stadium is next door and is beautiful. It is being done by the same group that built Camden Yards in Baltimore. On this day, news that a construction worker and Red Sox fan imbedded a Red Sox t-shirt in the new walls in hopes of cursing the Yankees spread throughout the city. Yankee officials denied the reports.

After our tour, we returned to the subway and made our way to the Metropolitan Museum of Art. We were joined by our guide and cousin, NTC. She brought me a special birthday gift – my great grandfather William Nodell (1883-1953)’s medals from World War I. I was incredibly honored.

NTC is a member of the museum and guided us through. We viewed the ancient Egyptian exhibit and the examples from the Impressionist period. There was actually a fully reconstructed Egyptian tomb rebuilt from Egypt. It was impressive.

Museums we considered visiting: The Guggenheim Museum (unfortunately is was closed to renovation), the Museum of Modern Art, and the Museum of Sex (which would have been incredibly awkward).

We then took a taxi, passing among sites passed F.A.O. Schwarz and the Palaces where I had eaten with NTC on my first New York excursion at age four.

We then made our 6:30 pm reseverations at the Broadway Joe Steakhouse. We ate at the restaurant largely because we received vouchers with our theater tickets. It was also conveniently located near our play.

The restaurant has a long history. It was opened in 1949 by Joe Moreno during the Damon Runyan Era (“Guys & Dolls”). He dubbed his place "Broadway Joe" - because his name was Joe and he was on block away from Broadway. In 1953 looking for a typical New York restaurant, a film crew shooting the FBI Story with Jimmy Stewart, choose to feature "Broadway Joe." In 1970, New York Jets quarterback Joe Namath acquired the nickname "Broadway Joe" and frequented the restaurant and brought sports legends, as well as stars from Broadway shows to dine here. Over the years, the Broadway Joe Steakhouse has become a famous New York landmark.

The three-course meal (soup, steak, cheesecake) was adequate and the atmosphere was great. We happened to sit by tables of all Southerners. Our “neighbors” were from Georgia, Greensboro (NC) and amazingly Parrotsville (in my home county - Cocke County) Tennessee. Our waiter, David Schmidt – a local playwright – was also very cordial. It was a good experience.

We then walked to the Al Hirschfeld Theatre on Broadway to watch Curtains. I selected this play at the recommendation of LBG. As usual, she made a good choice.

“The Musical Comedy Whodunit” is a smash hit. It will close on June 29 after 511 performances and 26 previews. It was first previewed on February 27, 2007. It stars David Hyde Pierce, best known for his role as “Niles Crane” on the TV sitcom Frazier. Pierce was a surprise winner of the 2007 Tony Award for Best Lead Actor. Debra Monk is billed second and prvides countless zingers. Tenor Jason Daniely has an especially beautiful voice and his "I Miss the Music" is warming even in a comedy.

The play is set in Boston's Colonial Theater in 1959. Anna Louizos' set went to great lengths to recreate the venue with great authenticity.

The outset of the play is the opening night of the new, but fledgling, musical "Robbin' Hood." The plot ensues when the talent bereft leading lady is murdered during the curtain call, thus making the entire cast and crew suspects.

With this, Lt. Frank Cioffi (Pierce) enters to solve the murder. As a musical theater fanatic, he also decides to take it upon himself to solve the problems of the show. The hilarity ensues from there with the revelation of the killer being a mere afterthought.

The show was developed in the 1970s by the musical team of John Kander and Fred Ebb (who wrote “Chicago”) along with librettist Peter Stone as a backstage musical comedy about putting on a floundering musical. It was shelved for some thirty years, until the trio got working again. Stone died in 2003, following the second staged reading of the material. Afterwards, Rupert Holmes joined in, adding the murder mystery aspect to the story. Ebb died suddenly a year later, but Kander and Holmes pressed on with the show, which finally hit Broadway in 2007.

The show has many local references, including the opening after party at Sardis, the restaurant we ate at the previous night.

Though the cast is filled with “Frazier” alums, Pierce’s character is nothing like Niles. Edward Hibbert appeared in 29 episodes as “Gil Chesterton” and Debra Monk also appeared in an episode of “Frazier” on 9/23/2003.

Afterwards, Pierce appealed to the audience to buy special items. Proceeds would go Broadway Cares. For only $20, I bought a Pierce signed “death threat” that was used on stage during the show’s run!

It drizzled on our way walking back home, but it was an otherwise perfect day. We stopped at Gristedes, a local grocery store, where my mother spent nearly a half an hour selecting her next morning’s breakfast!

Friday was my favorite day in New York. Perhaps not coincidentally it was the only day of the five-day trek that I did not lug my suitcase around.

---

Saturday morning was our last in the city as we would be spending the remainder of the trip in my mother’s native Long Island. While my father completed his meetings, we spent the morning shopping for souvenirs. We found them at New York Gift (729 7th Avenue), The Gift Shop (833 7th Avenue), New York Attitude: Gifts & Souvenirs (843 7th Avenue), Phantom of Broadway (1607 Broadway) and Grand Slam New York (1557 Broadway). These were only the stores I actually purchased from!

Before checking out of Le Parker Meridien we ate at the hotel’s burger restaurant. It is well-known as one of the best burgers in NYC. It is hidden around a curtained corner with only a hidden neon burger sign hinting at its existence. The walls are covered with signatures of famous patrons. For instance, we sat at a booth directly in front of signatures from Menudo. More impressive than us sitting in the same spots as Yankee greats in the dugout, was reclining where Menudo had. I checked the five signatures and Ricky Martin was not among them. I assume this is a more recent incarnation. (Note: This picture is the hotel’s version of the “Don Not Disturb Sign.”)

After checking out, we walked across the street and acquired our rental car from Hertz. We were upgraded to a white Lincoln Town Car. Somewhere, O.J. Simpson was pleased.

Armed with “Lucy” (my father’s Garmin), we hit the Long Island Expressway to Oyster Bay. My mother’s family moved to Oyster Bay at age 10 when her father was hired as principal of Oyster Bay High School. The school board required principles to live in the city which where they worked.

Amazingly, many of my mother's neighbors lived in the same homes they did forty years ago when she lived there. Our first stop was an impromptu visit with 86-year old Nathalie Bernstein (NCB). Her house, which hd the only swimming pool on the street, served as headquarters for block parties when my mother lived there and her son George was very close with my uncle REN. She recognized my mother as soon as she opened the door. She is a wonderful Jewish lady who was hard at work preparing for Passover the following week. She showed me her Seder Plate and told me the Passover story. (Yes, she knew I was a minister.) It was a great visit.

We then stopped by my mother's house at 38 Adams Street. We also saw the telelphone booth at a Gulf station in which my mother often called my father (my grandfather would not allow her to use the home phone), the high school (where she went and my garndfather worked), First Presbyterian Church (where my mother attended) and Oyster Bay's shore. We stopped by the drug store where my mother spent countless hours. It is now a Carvel ice cream shop. While she was disappointed that the drug store no longer existed, she was pleased to have some of her favorite ice cream.

One store still in business was the Buckingham Variety Store (36 Audrey Avenue). This is one of the last of the 5 & 10's - although 5 & 10 cents does not go very far these days. It was honestly much like a Dollar Store. Amazingly, a saleslady showed us chemistry stencils whose price tag indicated they had been on the shelves since 1973! How does this place stay in business? If you ever need chemsitry stencils, you know where to look.

Before leaving Oyster Bay we visited the Sagamore Hill National Historic Site. This is the 22-room estate of President Teddy Roosevelt (1858-1919). While there I learned that the “teddy bear” is named for him. The teddy bear's story derives from a November 1902 hunting trip in Mississippi. After an unsuccessful day, the hunting party brought a small bear cub to the camp for the president to shoot. He refused because the animal did not have a chance to defend itself. From this anecdote, the "teddy bear" was born.

My mother also has a connection to Roosevelt. His daughter Ethel Roosevelt Derby (1891-1977) lived on her street. Though my other knew little of her, my uncle REN and his friend George would often finagle cookies and lemonade from her housekeeper. My mother became connected to her when she sought a penpal for the family that maintained her brothers' graves in France (they had died in WWII). My grandfather nominated my mother and her penpal Odile would eventually live with my mother for some time.

We then traveled to Farmingdale, also on Long Island. My mother lived there until she was ten while my grandfather served as history teacher, driver's education instructor, and guidance counselor.

Before arriving at our destination, we drove by Farmingdale United Methodist Church (where my mother attended) and Waldbaum’s, a grocery store. We checked into TownePlace Suites. The place has only been in operation two months. This was especially evident when the concierge had no idea how to get to the airport.

We then visited my mother’s home on Wall Street. (Yes, my mother was raised on Wall Street.) The homes are very cookie cutter and close together. This is because they were all designed by Bill Levitt (1907-1994), one of the most influential architects in history. He used assembly line techniques to mass produce standardized boxes depicted on TV shows like "Father Knows Best" and "Leave It to Beaver." While they are not especially unique, they provided affordable housing for soldiers returning from World War II, like my grandfather. 17,000 of these homes were built, originating in Levittown, New York, in 1947.

Amazingly, her next door neighbor still lives there in the same house! Edith Thomson (EBT), 86, still resides at 51 Wall Street, though her husband Dick died in 1993. EBT was my grandmother’s closest confidant and was privy to family secrets. She is still sharp as a tack and was able to fill in many of the gaps in my grandparents' history. She enunciates better than anyone I have ever met and I could have listened to her speak all day based upon both style and content.

We ate at the South Bay Diner in Lindenhurst as EBT was not impressed by any of the restaurants in Farmingdale. I had matzah ball soup (my first ever matzah ball) and roast.

We were joined by her son John Thomson (JAT) and his girlfriend Colleen Force (CAF). JAT is a guitarist who vocally resembles Eric Clapton. Colleen is a singer and mother of five who loves Edwin McCain like I love KJW. Her signature number is Van Morrison’s 1970 classic “Moondance.”

They are connected to a tropical rock band named the Young Rebel Goombas. A goomba has the ebonic equivalent of homeboy. JAT & CAF even provide vocals on their song “Sing-a-long.” They were heading to a concert later in the night, but I was pooped and chose to head to the hotel and sleep. They did supply me witha CD for my birthday. Thanks!

Speaking of which, as many of you know, Saturday marked my 30th birthday. I want to thank everyone who called, texted, e-mailed, etc. It honestly did not feel like my birthday, being away from home. It was a good one though and I have no negative feelings at all regarding the "big 3-0."

---

On Sunday, my father and I visited the Long Island National Cemetery in Farmingdale while my mother relaxed in the hotel. My great grandparents William and Cecelia Nodell are buried there in plots 1644b & a respectively. There was little new data on their tombstones, but it was nice to see their final resting place.

We then hit the Long Island Expressway back to LaGuardia Airport in Flushing. We ate at a Chilis Too inside the terminal before returning home. Our flight was on schedule and we touched down as plan, luggage in tact. It all came off without a hitch and we did not even kill each other. I must say, though I enjoyed the experience immensely, I was grateful to be home.

On Sunday night, KLTW, KJW, and RAW stopped by the house. I gave KJW her souvenirs – a rubber duck (I get her those on my trips), a miniature die-cast taxi (all yellow vehicles are “Chan’s car”), Stature of Liberty sunglasses and a Manhattan coloring book that came free with the purchase of the shades. Naturally, the free coloring book was her favorite. It was good to be home.

Prayer Blog - 4/11/2008

We received great news last night! My cousins HANW and MLW are expecting their first child. The child will be due on or around HANW's December 11th birthday. We praise God for this news and ask for blessings and guidance over the next nine months.

As an aside, pray for my mother. The fact that her baby brother will be a grandfather before she has added to her fears that she may never become a grandmother. Actually, pray for me. No pressure...

Bible Trivia - 4/11/2008

Question: Complete the following quotation of Jesus: “Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and...”?

Answer: “I will give you rest.” (Matthew 11:28)

Comments: Like Jesus’ quotation from Matthew 11, the inscription on the Statue of Liberty also invites the downtrodden in. An inscription on a bronze plaque at the base of the statue reads:

Give me your tired, your poor,
Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,
The wretched refuse of your teeming shore.
Send these, the homeless, tempest-tossed, to me:
I lift my lamp beside the golden door.

The lines are taken from an 1883 poem by Emma Lazarus (1848-1887) entitled "The New Colossus." The sonnet's words reflect the great hope with which immigrants traveled to America. The poem's lyric presents great opportunity while Jesus' words offer a great promise. Our hope should always be in Jesus, not in the world.

"Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest." (Matthew 11:28, NASB)

Word of the Day - 4/11/2008

Stentorian

Stentorian means very loud or powerful in sound: a stentorian voice.

The Israelites’ first military conquest in the Promised Land came when the stentorian shouts of the people and blasts from the priests’ trumpets signaled fall of the walls of Jericho. (Joshua 6)

So the people shouted, and priests blew the trumpets; and when the people heard the sound of the trumpet, the people shouted with a great shout and the wall fell down flat, so that the people went up into the city, every man straight ahead, and they took the city. (Johusa 6:20, NASB)

In Eckleburg's Eyes - 4/11/2008

Thursday marked my second day in the Big Apple and my first ever Broadway show.

In the morning, NTC snuck out to retrieve some authentic New York bagels. When she asked our preferences, my answer of “blueberry” was mocked for being “goy” - Gentile. I picked up a lot of Yiddish on this trip. She also served us lox, which is a form of salmon (the distinction between lox and "salmon" comes in the manner the meat is cured). Lox with cream cheese on a bagel is evidently a delicacy in these parts.

After breakfast, we watched a video of NTC’s grandson MG’s 2007 football highlights. To say he is impressive wold be an understatement. The video documents only the first six games of the season but in those games he rushed for 1139 yards and scored 17 touchdowns. The film also featured several sacks from his strong safety position as well as punt returns and completed passes. As noted in yesterday’s blog, MG has decided to give up football to pursue lacrosse. I am sure his coach was thrilled with that decision. If and when I receive his permission, I will post the video on the blog.

We then left NTC and her cat Nanu’s loft to drop our luggage the Parker Meridien in New York where we would be staying the next two nights. To get there, we again took the PATH and a taxi. It was quite the chore toting the luggage around. Our taxi driver’s name was Petit-Frere Emanuel. I thought that this was a rib, but evidently Petit-Frere (“Little Brother”) is a legitimate name in Haiti. No, I did not discover this by ridiculing the man, but rather by asking my cousin.

I must note that there are many signs warning that $350 fines could potentially be levied for those drivers who toot their horns. This is comical as one would think the entire city was a tunnel the way people blast their horns.

On the way in, we passed Radio City Music Hall. I would have liked to have seen a show there, but from April 10-12, comedian Katt Williams was booked and I was not overly interested in him. It would have almost worth attending to experience my parents' reactions to him. Almost.

After securing our bags, we ate lunch at the Carnegie Deli. We did pass nearby Carnegie Hall en route. The deli is known for oversized portions and waiters who engage in disparaging banter. While our waitress, an "old lady" named Monica ("like Lewisnki"), was not especially rude, the food was terrific.

The walls are adorned with hundreds of photos of stars and celebrities who are almost stars featuring signed endorsements. A corned beef and pastrami sandwich is named after Woody Allen. The deli served as a filming location for his 1984 film Broadway Danny Rose. The restaurant is also referenced in Adam Sandler’s moving holiday classic "The Chanukah Song."

I was told that the true test of any deli is its pastrami on rye with mustard. If this is the case, it past with flying colors. I split the massive dish with NTC and was pleased. I also sampled a Dr. Brown’s Cream Soda, one of my mother’s favorites. As good as the meal was, the dessert - a cheesecake with blueberry topping - was better. Cheesecake is identified with New York for a reason.

My father then departed for meetings, leaving NTC, DNV, abd I to peruse the city. We spent a lot of time on 5th Avenue. We passed many notable stores such as Macy’s and Saks Fifth Avenue. I was most interest in Tiffany & Co. as I am a huge Audrey Hepburn fan. She is linked with the jewelry store through her film Breakfast at Tiffany’s. A very cooperative salesman showed us where the film was shot and that Audrey Hepburn was one of only two people to wear the Tiffany Yellow Diamond. The other was Mrs. Sheldon Whitehouse at the 1957 Tiffany Ball held in Newport, Rhode Island. Unfortunately, the diamond is presently on tour.

While on 5th Avenue I also stopped in the NBA Store. I was allured by a life-size Lego display of Celtics star Kevin Garnett. RAW, I thought about you. If I had several hundred dollars of disposable cash, I might have bought it for you.

There were various people in Elmo costumes throughout the city. I have no idea why. They asked for donations if you took a picture with them. I did. Why? Being seen with Elmo gives me a great deal of street cred with KJW.

We spent the remainder of the afternoon at Rockefeller Center. I saw the ice skating rink, the Today Show, NBC Studios, where Letterman is taped, etc. We sat and chatted for a long time at Brasherie Ruhlmann. It is a café in the European style. NTC caught us up to date on tales of husbands past.

We then officially checked into the Parker-Meridien hotel. Our rooms, though unfortunately not on the same floor, both overlook Central Park. NTC left us to find our way to our restaurant and theater as she has a life (and had plans with a friend).

On the way to our restaurant, we went into a three-story Toys R Us. It was massive. Steven Spielberg donated a dinosaur from Jurassic Park. It is one of many impressive spectacles in the store. While there, we received a phone call from my cousin HANW. She is pregnant! We were very excited.

We then walked to Sardi’s Restaurant where we had reservations for 6 pm. Sardi’s is located the heart of New York's Theater District (adjacent to the theater we would be at later in the evening) and has been in operation for 82 years. It is most known for countless caricatures of the stars who have eaten there. NTC instructed me to order something basic as the restaurant is more known for its ambiance than cuisine. Still stuffed from lunch, I only ordered a tiramisu. It was good, but the steak I sampled from my father’s plate (I did ask) was average at best.

We then ironically had some time to kill in Times Square. I do not know if they archive it or not, but there is streaming video of the locale here At my request, we shopped at the Virgin Megastore. I had been to the branch in Hollywood last year and this store was far bigger. It had three floors, one of which was devoted entirely to DVDs. It is pretty much my vision of heaven. Believe it or not, I bought nothing for myself at the store.

We then went to the St. James Theater for our 8 o’clock play - Gypsy: A Musical Fable. The play stars Broadway legend Patti LuPone. Her name receives top billing even over the title. To view LuPone's climactic number "Rose's Turn" on YouTube click here.

This version of the play opened on March 27 but had a 22 performance run (July 9, 2007 - July 29, 2007) at City Center peviously. It originated in 1959 with music by Jule Styne, lyrics by Stephen Sondheim. The play originally starred Ethel Merman.

The feature is based upon the memoirs of Gypsy Rose Lee (1911-1970). Set during the vaudeville era, Gypsy features a stereotypical stage mother, Rose (LuPone), who travels the country with her two daughters and manager, Herbie who is in love with Rose. While daughters June and Louise wish their mother would wed Herbie, Rose continues to pursue dreams of stardom for her girls. When June deserts the act, Rose turns her attention to the shy, talentless Louise, whom she hopes to mold into a star. When the act is booked into a burlesque house by mistake, Louise is forced into the spotlight and world renowned stripper Gypsy Rose Lee is born.

The story was interesting and the play was beautifully performed as one might expect. The play “Wicked” which I saw last year at the Pantages Theatre in Los Angeles was on par with this Broadway show but is the only performance I have seen to match the scope of this production.

Some of the more interesting aspects of the stripper's tale occur after the play ends, such as her affair with noted Hollywood director Otto Preminger.

While I did not like LuPone’s character (I do not believe I was supposed to), I loved the play.

Tune in Monday for the conclusion of the Vinson family in New York.

Associated Baptist Press - 4/10/2008

Associated Baptist Press
April 10, 2008 (8-580)

IN THIS ISSUE:
BTSR budget shortfall leads to faculty lay-offs
Baptist clergy launch organization to minister to Caribbean ‘diaspora’
Samford scholarship program targets ministers-in-training
Detroit pastor to deliver 2008 Shurden lectures
Opinion: Is Jesus really our Lord?



BTSR budget shortfall leads to faculty lay-offs
By Robert Dilday

RICHMOND, Va. (ABP) – Faced with “worrisome” financial challenges, Baptist Theological Seminary at Richmond will downsize its faculty and staff, the school’s president announced April 8.

Four full-time professors and at least three administrative staff members will be let go in an effort to reduce costs, according to BTSR President Ron Crawford, who was elected to his position about a year ago. Though he did not release the names of the professors to be dismissed, Crawford said he has communicated with each one and that the school is offering severance packages that exceed a full year’s salary and full personnel benefits.

The 19-year old seminary is burdened with a $6 million debt and faces a significant deficit in its budget this year -- about $450,000 out of an overall budget of $3.6 million, Crawford said in a statement distributed to the school’s alumni and supporters.

“Our immediate fiscal challenge is related to the capital campaign that was completed last summer as I became BTSR’s president,” he said. “The campaign included the purchase of two buildings along with two unanticipated financial challenges: significant debt and a payroll that overreaches annual revenues.”

BTSR, which enrolls about 160 students, currently employs 15 full-time professors and about 16 administrative staff, including the president and dean of the faculty. About 14 visiting and adjunct faculty members also teach classes.

The school’s campus is adjacent to Union Theological Seminary, a Presbyterian institution, and the seminary owns buildings that once housed Union’s Presbyterian School of Christian Education.

At a March 17-18 meeting, BTSR’s board of trustees asked Crawford to devise a downsizing plan and present it at a called trustee meeting in late April. The president informed the seminary community of the developments at a March 28 meeting of faculty, staff and students.

“Once the downsizing is complete we will be left with a tenured faculty member in each of the disciplines we have traditionally covered, with the exception of one, where a visiting professor will be employed,” said Crawford. “With nine full-time faculty members, at least three visiting professors and other adjunct faculty members, we will continue to have a profoundly strong faculty.”

Crawford also said that the reduced faculty will have less impact on BTSR than it would on most seminaries. The school is part of the Richmond Theological Consortium, which includes Union Seminary and its School of Christian Education, as well as the school of theology at nearby Virginia Union University, a historically African-American Baptist institution. Students in the consortium’s schools may take courses at any of the institutions for no additional cost.

“On the administrative side, we are losing three and a half positions,” said Crawford, in separate e-mailed comments to an Associated Baptist Press reporter.“Our idea is to replace full-time support staff with part-time students. We’ll train the students on the business inner-workings of a nonprofit, church environment. It should be a win-win.”

Founded in 1989, BTSR was one of the first institutions established by moderates who began leaving the increasingly conservative Southern Baptist Convention in the 1980s and 90s. Though a number of other moderate seminaries and divinity schools have sprouted since then, many former Southern Baptists still retain passion for the first one, and Crawford is counting on that to get BTSR through the financial strain.

“I continue to say, ‘The future of BTSR is very bright, the short-term is worrisome,’” he noted. “BTSR will survive and, eventually, thrive. We fully anticipate going through a few very lean years. We will use the time to restructure and refocus our efforts on responding to the challenge of providing theological education in a 21st century world.”

-30-

Baptist clergy launch organization to minister to Caribbean ‘diaspora’
By ABP staff

NEW YORK (ABP) -- With a worship service March 30, a group of ministers officially launched a Baptist fellowship to minster to the Caribbean “diaspora” in English-speaking countries.

Caribbean Diaspora Baptist Clergy Association kicked off its life with a “celebrative service” at Grace Baptist Chapel in the New York City borough of the Bronx, according to the Baptist World Alliance.

The chapel is home to a congregation of mainly Caribbean immigrants. The service, a BWA statement said, was designed “to give recognition [to] an organization which has become a reality after a decade of discussion and deliberation.”

According to Alfred Johnson, a former Jamaica Baptist Union pastor who now serves in New Jersey, “Over the past 40 to 50 years, what started as a trickle has now become a steady stream of [Caribbean] immigrants into this country…. We were indeed strangers in a foreign land, living in exile from our home in the Caribbean, away from our Baptist fellowship.”

According to the BWA, the worldwide umbrella group for Baptists, such a fellowship has been discussed since at least 1993. After a mission conference in the Jamaican town of Ocho Rios in 2003, the Jamaica Baptist Union Mission Agency stated its intention “to participate in mission to Caribbean people in general and to Jamaicans in particular who are in the Diaspora (e.g. United Kingdom, USA and Canada).”

The clergy association was incorporated in 2006 and signed a partnership agreement with the Jamaica Baptist Union in April 2007 at the Bronx church to aid in “facilitating mission in both regions of the world,” meaning the Caribbean and North America.

In October, the clergy association, the Jamaican union, and the Caribbean Baptist Fellowship, one of six regional groups affiliated with the BWA, signed the Montego Bay Accord following a Jamaican missions conference in the resort town of the same name. Among other provisions, the accord includes the development of “meaningful ministries with cultural relevance,” while the parties agreed “to submit ourselves to periodic reviews, and to hold each other accountable under God.”

CDBCA draws membership mainly from Caribbean clergy living and working in the northeastern United States. U.S. immigration from the Caribbean over the last several decades has been concentrated in New York, Connecticut, Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, New Jersey and Maryland.

Last year, BWA installed Neville Callam, a former Jamaican pastor, as its general secretary. He is the first person of non-Anglo descent to direct the more-than-century-old alliance.

The Caribbean Diaspora Baptist Clergy Association’s president is Delroy Reid-Salmon, pastor of Grace Baptist Chapel.

-30-

Samford scholarship program targets ministers-in-training
By ABP staff

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (ABP) -- In what may be the first program of its kind, an Alabama Baptist school is targeting future ministers with undergraduate scholarships.

Samford University has created a pre-ministerial scholars program aimed at students who are called to full-time ministry in traditional, church-related positions. The Birmingham-based school announced the program April 10. In a press release, school officials said the institution plans to offer the scholarships to as many as 50 students over the next several academic years.

The merit-based grants will begin at about $11,000 a year per student, with the potential of increasing to $16,000 annually for scholars who meet certain academic criteria.

Samford recently admitted 16 high school seniors to the program for the fall semester of 2008. This group will represent the first freshmen to be awarded the scholarships, which are available to students of any denomination. A trial run of the program last year provided scholarships to eight undergraduates already enrolled at the school.

James Barnette, a religion professor who directs Samford’s ministerial-formation program, said scholarship recipients must meet certain academic standards as well as demonstrate a clear calling to, and giftedness for, traditional ministerial roles.

The students must feel called to such positions as senior pastor, associate pastor, other local-church staff minister, non-medical career missionary, hospital chaplain, campus minister, pastoral counselor or religion professor.

“Just as there are pre-med, pre-law and pre-pharmacy programs, Samford wants to develop a pre-ministerial program that will train up the most capable ministers of tomorrow,” Barnette said, according to the Samford release.

He also said that Samford is, as far as he knows, the first Baptist undergraduate institution to offer such scholarships to incoming freshmen.

-30-

Detroit pastor to deliver 2008 Shurden lectures
By ABP staff

WASHINGTON (ABP) -- One of America’s most renowned African-American preachers will deliver the third annual Shurden Lectures on Religious Liberty and the Separation of Church and State.

Charles Adams will give the speeches, which are scheduled for April 14-15 on the campus of Wake Forest University.

For nearly four decades, Adams has served as pastor of Hartford Memorial Baptist Church in Detroit. The 10,000-member congregation has been noted for its innovative ministries, credited by many with the economic revitalization of large parts of the poverty-addled city.

In addition to his pastoral duties, Adams serves as a professor of applied ethics and ministry at Harvard Divinity School, his alma mater.

He is also a longtime board member of the Baptist Joint Committee for Religious Liberty. The Washington-based watchdog organization sponsors the lecture series, which was endowed by, and named for, longtime Baptist leaders Walter and Kay Shurden of Macon, Ga.

-30-

Opinion: Is Jesus really our Lord?
By David Gushee

(ABP) -- The New Testament declares that Jesus Christ is Lord, that followers of Christ are those who live under his lordship now, and that one day Jesus will be acknowledged by all as Lord:

“Therefore God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father” (Phil. 2:10-11).

Jesus taught that mere verbal confessions of his lordship are not enough; he wants to see us do God’s will, and this is the true test of whether he is our Lord:

“Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven” (Matt. 7:21-22).

Jesus also taught that his authority extends to the whole cosmos and that therefore no arena of life can be exempted from obedience to his rule:

“All authority on heaven and earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you” (Matt.28:18-20).

The earliest pages of the New Testament teach that the lordship of Jesus Christ is deeply threatening to this world’s powers:

“’Where is the one who has been born king of the Jews? We saw his star in the east, and have come to worship him.’” When King Herod heard this he was disturbed, and all Jerusalem with him” (Matt. 2:2-3).

The last pages of the New Testament reflect on the price paid by those who affirmed that Jesus Christ alone is Lord amidst the hostile Roman Empire:

“They overcame him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony; they did not love their loves so much as to shrink from death” (Rev. 12:11).

Jesus Christ may be Lord of all, but woe be to those who suggest that this might have implications for how Christians spend their money, what they do with their bodies, how they vote, or how they think about the laws and policies of this nation.

Woe to those who suggest that being a Christian means more than just being a good middle-class American who finds time for church among his or her many other civic activities.

Woe to those who suggest that the policies of a beloved president or party might in some cases fall short of the moral standards taught in the pages of the Bible.

Woe to those who suggest that the United States is not God’s chosen nation and that even the behavior of our own beloved country must be tested by the criteria demanded by the lordship of Jesus Christ.

Woe to those who suggest that defending this nation is not the highest good for those who have pledged their lives to Jesus as Lord.

Woe to those who suggest that torture, humiliation, degradation, and indefinite detention of prisoners in the name of national security might have to be rejected by those who claim Jesus Christ as Lord.

I gave an interview yesterday for a film on the “German church struggle” of the 1930s. The questions involved reflecting on how so many German Christians did not see any contradiction between their loyalty to the Nazi party, or the Nazified German state, and their loyalty to Jesus Christ, their purported Lord. And I was asked to try to delineate what -- if anything -- set apart the resisters (like Karl Barth and Dietrich Bonhoeffer) from those who capitulated to Nazism.

The basic answer is that Barth and Bonhoeffer really meant it when they said that Jesus Christ is Lord, and they understood the radical implications of that claim. Christ’s lordship meant that the nation, the party, and the Fuhrer could not claim and did not deserve total lordship over any Christian’s life; that the Bible rather than any other authority must have supremacy; and that in situations of radical evil, Christians are called to offer an even more radical and unflinching witness to Christ’s lordship.

Baptists argued for decades over theories of inspiration while many churches were slowly dying the death of a thousand cultural assimilations. I think it is clear that we should have been arguing over whether we really mean it when we say at baptism that we are committing our lives to Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord.

I forecast that the days of cultural, Southern, Baptist Christianity are passing -- the days of just good regular American folks going to church because that’s what their mama and grandma did. Our churches will survive -- if they do -- not on cultural Christianity, but on people totally committed to the lordship of Christ.

-30-

-- David Gushee is distinguished university professor of Christian ethics at Mercer University. www.davidpgushee.com

Bible Trivia - 4/10/2008

Question: Which year is closest to the year of Jesus’ birth-4 BC, 1 BC, 0, 1 BC, or 4 AD?

Answer: 4 BC

Comments: The Anno Domini system attempted to calculate time from the birth of Jesus, but is assumed to be slightly off. It was developed by a monk named Dionysius Exiguus aka “Dennis the Little” in Rome in 525. It was not until the 8th century that the system began to be adopted in Western Europe. In 1422, Portugal became the last Western European country to adopt the Anno Domini system.

Scholars assume the system is slightly skewed based upon the fact that King Herod, featured prominently in Matthew's account of the magi and as such the birth of Jesus(Matthew 2), died in 4 BCE.

Word of the Day - 4/10/2008

Prurient

To be prurient is having, inclined to have, or characterized by lascivious or lustful thoughts, desires, etc.

Job made a covenant with his eyes to avoid prurience.

"I have made a covenant with my eyes;/How then could I gaze at a virgin?
(Job 31:1, NASB)

Stephen Arterburn (b. 1953) features this passage in his book Every Man’s Battle: Winning the War on Sexual Temptation One Victory at a Time (pages 125-126).

In Eckleburg's Eyes - 4/10/2008

Wednesday marked the 100th Day of the year. I spent the day beginning my first family vacation in seventeen years. My father is the president elect of the National Kidney Foundation of East Tennessee and had a training session in New York. Somewhere along the line, this trip morphed into a family vacation.

I had not been to New York (my mother’s home state) since I was four years old and have few memories of that visit. This trip was actually well planned. I think my mother read the entire text of Fodor’s New York City 2008 in preparation. I also did a lot of research. My rule of the thumb is that if a trip is made by car, I improvise, but if flying is necessitated, then methodical planning is as well. I compiled the majority of the itinerary as my mother did most of the things she wanted to do in New York on her last visit with my father since she honestly believed she might never return.

I took planning so seriously that I even bought Sunscreen - Hawaiian Tropic Ozone. It has an SPF of 70. Their web site says that they make it in SPF 80. While I did not know SPF went that high, I am sure it will not be high enough for me. At least this time I cannot be blamed for negligence!

One thing I clearly did not plan was our departure time. My mother selected our flight as it was the lone direct flight from Knoxville to New York. This was great. Unfortunately, this flight also left town at 6:10 AM, meaning we needed to leave our home by 4:30. I woke up as planned - at 4:15. I figured I would give myself extra grooming time for such a significant trip.

Our flight met its schedule. The highlight though was that my mother alerted airport security. After taking off every piece of jewelry on her person, she still activated alarms. This meant she had to be frisked. Naturally, I saw this as a brilliant photo opportunity. It turns out that there was actually metallic material in her shirt. Eventually, the powers that be allowed her to board her flight. This is one of those incidents that could only happen to myself or my mother. My father attributed the incident to her evil alter ego "The Dot Master" having finally been discovered by someone other than SMA.

The flight went smoothly and we all managed to get a little (albeit very little) sleep. I had not seen sleep under worse conditions since I was in college and the 6'10" basketball star Charles Hathaway managed to contort himself into very small desks to sleep through religious studies classes.

Upon arriving at LaGuardia Airport, we began to make our way to Jersey City, New Jersey. The first day of the trip was spent in Jersey City in the 8th floor loft owned by my mother’s first cousin NTC. I have been told that this makes her my first cousin once removed.

The short distance to Jersey City actually took almost as long as our flight from Knoxville to New York. Before the day was out, I used every mode of transportation I had ever heard of. A taxi drove us from the airport to Manhattan. A Haitian driver named Lucas Jean administered cruel and unusual punishment on the long, slow ride across town. He played antiquated French music, which my mother loved. I read the Taxicab Rider Bill of Rights and knew he had violated #8 (“A noise free trip: no horn honking or radio;”). (I provided the link so that you would know I did not make the list up.) If he was not such a nice fellow I would report him! The taxi trip took us through Queens as well as several notable facilities including Shea Stadium.

From Manhattan we took the Port Authority Trans-Hudson Corporation (PATH), a version of the subway connecting New York and New Jersey. We then proceeded on foot to her loft. She has a beautiful view. One can actually see many New York monuments including the Statue of Liberty out her window. In fact, she watched the Twin Towers crumble from her perch as well.

I was thrilled to see NTC. I was to have seen her in December for my cousin’s wedding but her taxi driver wrecked on the way to the airport. (I think traveling mishaps are genetic.) She is one of my favorite people. Her home is like mine, as it is more library than residence. She has decorated with all sorts of cool artifacts from her travels. In short, she is a hip hip lady.

She generously cooked us brunch - a layered dish called strada, with pumpernickel bread direct from Russia, and a salad with homemade dressing. It was thoughtful and delicious. We actually ate on my great grandparents' dining table, the same table that my mother ate on child during visits.

We spent much of the afternoon discussing my family's intentionally mysterious past. She was privy to many legal documents and I discovered a great deal of my heritage - some of which I did not like. I finally received confirmation (in the form of a divorce certificate) that my grandfather’s father scandalously left his first wife and abandoned his son to marry the woman who would become my great grandmother.

One family mystery remains unclear. I am hoping for confirmation that I am related to Martin “Marty” Nodell (1915-2006). Nodell (my mother’s relatively rare maiden name) was born in 1915 in Philadelphia (where my great grandfather lived at the time) and Martin is a family name. Nodell created the comic book superhero Green Lantern in 1940 and as art director of the Leo Burnett Agency was also part of the creative team that developed the Pillsbury Doughboy in 1965. I suspect he may be my grandfather’s first cousin.

In more contemporary family news, NTC’s grandson MG negotiated his own lacrosse scholarship to Drexel University in Philadelphia. MG, who will turn 18 on April 21, is a junior midfielder for the Springfield Township (PA) High School Spartans, after transferring from Penn Charter last season. He has decided to retire from football after a stellar junior season as a half back/defensive back to concentrate on lacrosse. Despite his exploits in athletics, he is still known as “The Bunny” in family circles.

The theme of family heritage continued as we caught a taxi and then a ferry to visit the Ellis Island Immigration Museum. Ellis Island was the location where most immigrants first arrived in America from 1892-1924. It remained open until 1953. Restoration began in 1984 and its new function as a museum originated in 1990. It is located very close to the Statue of Liberty and tours to both are held in conjunction with one another.

We arrived and learned that we could watch a short play. Never one to pass up a play, we paid the extra $6 per person to view “Taking a Chance On America: Bela Lugosi’s Ellis Island Story.” It is a three-person half-hour sketch written by Aurorae Khoo which uses Bela Lugosi (1882-1956), a Hollwood legend, best remembered for his portrayal of Count Dracula, to depict how immigrants were processed through Ellis Island. It was cute and well worth the $6. The show just opened and will be playing seven times daily through October.

In a small world story, one of the actors is a veteran of Knoxville's Clarence Brown Theater. More amazing than this is that my father, typically oblivious to such things, was the one who recognized him.

The Museum itself was enlightening. The issues facing modern immigration were very similar to those at the turn of the twentieth-century. The immigrants had to prove their physical and mental health, that they had start up funds, and that they could be a productive member of society. I found it especially interesting that a 1917 statute required literacy at least in one’s native tongue. Each immigrant was required to read a forty word passage - from the Bible.

After taking another ferry back to New York and passing the Staten Island Ferry, we ate at the Grand Central Oyster Bar & Grill in Grand Central Station. It is a local staple, having been open since 1913, and one of the few restaurants recommended by both tourists and natives. All four of us enjoyed our meal immensely. I liked my jumbo coconut shrimp, but the scallops I sampled from my father’s entree were the best I have ever tasted.

Our server graciosuly rushed our order so that we could make the 7:30 tip off at Madison Square Garden, as the local New York Knicks faced the Charlotte Bobcats. The game featured two of professional basektball's worst teams, but I wanted to go to experience "The World's Most Famous Arena." None of us had been to the new Garden though my mother had attended many rodeos at its predecessor. You read that correctly. My mother and her father love the rodeo.

On Saturday night, the Bobcats lost at home to the Celtics despite the fact that Boston decided to rest its three most prominent players. Still, they entered the game with the better record of the two teams at 30-48.

On this night, the home team won 109-107. With only three games remaining, the win ensured that the Knicks (23-56) would not lose 60 games for the first time in team history. Honestly, it was forunate that both teams were so miserable, as otherwise we might not have been able to obtain tickets.

Overall, the experience was a bit of a let down. The intensity from the fans was nonexistent which was to be expected as the teams were vying for essentially nothing. The biggest crowd reaction of the night came when news of the New York Rangers 4-1 victory in the NHL Playoffs was updated. My dad did obtain some much needed sleep during the game.

It is also worth noting that the only celebrities in attendance were the cast of the Broadway show "Rent"", who did an admirable job singing the national anthem. Anthony Rapp (forever remembered by me for his role in Dazed in Confused) demonstrated his support for Barrack Obama. Who out there was thinking "I had been unsure as to who to vote for, but if Obama is endorsed by Anthony Rapp... "?

"Sopranos" actor Steve Schirripa (Bobby 'Bacala' Baccalieri) was also there as was Knicks commentator/Just For Men® spokesman Walt "Clyde"Frazier.

The walk back to the Subway station was difficult as we passed countless homeless people all along 31st. It was disheartening as there were too many people to help.

After a very long day, we all crashed upon returning to NTC's loft.

I will close by wishing my aunt JESN a great birthday. We thought of you.