news at free will baptist bible college     Free Will Baptist Bible College in Nashville, TN, has been the official college of the Free Will Baptist Denomination since 1951. To find out more information about the school, visit their website at www.fwbbc.edu.

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FWBBC Establishes ‘Linda Shipley Music Scholarship’

Free Will Baptist Bible College announced the establishment of the Linda Shipley Music Scholarship during a special chapel presentation February 11, according to Dr. James Stevens, chair of the Music Department. The scholarship is named in honor of Dr. Linda Shipley, a member of the college faculty since 2001.

Dr. Stevens said, “Thanks to Dr. Shipley’s efforts, the college secured a $4,000 gift from the A. Louis Scarmolin Trust, a foundation that supports promotion of the composer, Anthony Louis Scarmolin. The funds will be placed in an endowment for music scholarships. We hope this encourages gifts from others interested in making specific donations to music students.”

One of the conditions of the grant is that FWBBC students perform some of Scarmolin’s works in recitals and performances. During the February 11 chapel presentation titled “The Music of A. Louis Scarmolin,” students and faculty performed 14 works by the composer.

President Pinson said, “We are so pleased that Dr. Shipley is a member of the college music faculty, and even more pleased to honor her by establishing the Linda Shipley Music Scholarship. She is one of the most gifted instrumentalists I’ve ever known. Her commitment to the mission of FWBBC and her love for the students is an encouragement to all of us.”

Anthony Louis Scarmolin (1890-1969) moved with his family from Italy to New Jersey in 1900, enrolled in the German Conservatory of Music in New York City, and planned a career as a concert pianist. A hand injury resulted in him focusing his attention on composing and arranging. During World War I, he played the clarinet and piano with the 320th Field Artillery Band. He later served 30 years as band/orchestra leader at Emerson High School in Union City, New Jersey.

PHOTO: (L) Dr. James Stevens, chair, Music Department; President Matt Pinson; Dr. Linda Shipley.

FWBBC Students Listed in Who’s Who

The 2009 edition of Who’s Who Among Students in American Universities and Colleges will include the names of 11 students from Free Will Baptist Bible College who have been selected as national outstanding campus leaders, according to Provost Greg Ketteman.

Campus nominating committees and editors of the annual directory have included the names of these students based on their academic achievement, service to the community, leadership in extracurricular activities, and potential for continued success.

They join an elite group of students from more than 2,000 institutions of higher learning in all 50 states, the District of Columbia, and several foreign nations. Outstanding students have been honored in the annual directory since it was first published in 1934.

Students named this year from Free Will Baptist Bible College are:

• Clint Adams (Kentucky)

• Teddie Collier (Missouri)

• Jacob Conner (Virginia)

• Ashley Gladson (Tennessee)

• Melanie Hawkins (Illinois)

• Derek Lewis (Illinois)

• Chad Mishler (Illinois)

• Lindsey Parks (Tennessee)

• Hannah Postlewaite (South Carolina)

• Kyle Saunders (North Carolina)

• Mallory White (Virginia)

Nine Students Attend Senior Days

Nine students from four states and the Virgin Islands participated in the fourth “Senior Days” of the 2008-2009 academic year at Free Will Baptist Bible College, according to Jeff Caudill, director of enrollment services. The February 12-14 event brought high school seniors from Michigan, North Carolina, Ohio, and Tennessee to the Nashville campus.

Mr. Caudill said, “This makes 45 high school seniors who have visited the FWBBC campus in four Senior Days during the current academic year to share in a series of special seniors-only events. While a number of seniors and other interested students attend Welcome Days each semester, our Senior Days focus is exclusively on those students who will graduate in the spring and enroll in college this fall.”

The nine visiting seniors attended classes and chapel, met with advisors in their fields of interest, enjoyed an informative lunch with President Matt Pinson, attended a Valentine’s party hosted by two FWBBC student societies, and had personal guides to answer questions about the college.

Michigan senior Sarah Norris said, “I enjoyed Senior Days. I’m glad I came down.”

FWBBC President Edits Book on Worship

NASHVILLE, TN—Perspectives on Christian Worship, a new book edited by Free Will Baptist Bible College president Matt Pinson is now available from the B&H Publishing Group. Sale price for the 360-page volume is $24.99.

The well-written chapters present in counterpoint form five basic common beliefs on Christian worship that have developed over the course of church history, with a view toward determining which is most faithful to Scripture. The chapters are written by a prominent person within each tradition, and each writer has the opportunity to respond to each differing view.

President Pinson said, “Evangelicals, including Free Will Baptists, need to develop a theology of worship that’s thoroughly scriptural and rooted in our tradition. We haven’t done that yet, and I hope this book will help us move toward formulating a worship theology.”

Perspectives on Christian Worship allows readers to see the various views on worship that emerge from five traditions. The chapters present a clear analysis on where the traditions agree as well as points of divergence and conflict.

Pinson said, “I want to get us thinking theologically about worship. I fear we as Free Will Baptists—on all sides of the worship debate—sometimes verge on basing our worship practice on current trends rather than theology, being naïve about the way culture is transforming our life together as Christians. Free Will Baptists who are steeped in their own theological presuppositions will immediately pick up on the problems with some of the views in this book. I hope the book can help us put together a rich theology of worship that emerges from sound theology, not just trendiness.”

This marks the second volume written in counterpoint style that Dr. Pinson has edited. His first effort, Four Views on Eternal Security, was published in 2002 by Zondervan.

Other books published by Pinson include A Free Will Baptist Handbook (1998) and The Washing of the Saints’ Feet (2006), both printed by Randall House Publications.