Timothy Tennent

I Came, I Saw, I Loved: My Charge to the Asbury Theological Seminary Spring Graduating Class of 2015

Julius Caesar famously wrote to the Roman Senate in 46 B.C. in the wake of his stunning victory in the east: veni, vidi, vici—I came, I saw, I conquered. That famous phrase veni, vidi, vici has become almost the summarizing motto of the confident, unbridled triumphalism of the Roman era. If their motto was “I came, […]

Women as Pastors and Leaders in the Church

During our Centennial year, I am preaching on the great themes that have defined the ministry and theology of Asbury Theological Seminary. Here, we will examine our historic commitment to train women. Even though we began as an institution in 1923, our first regular graduating class that was not merely transfer students was in 1927. […]

The Multiplication of Laborers: A Centennial of Fruitfulness

Asbury Theological Seminary 14th Convocation Address for the launch of Asbury Theological Seminary’s Centennial Text: Matthew 9:37, 38 A desert road leading to Damascus; a quiet garden in the city of Milan; a stormy day in Stotternheim, Germany; three women conversing in a doorway in Bedford, England; a Moravian prayer meeting on Aldersgate St., London; […]

The Multiplication of Laborers: A Centennial of Fruitfulness

Asbury Theological Seminary 14th Convocation Address for the launch of Asbury Theological Seminary’s Centennial A desert road leading to Damascus; a quiet garden in the city of Milan; a stormy day in Stotternheim, Germany; three women conversing in a doorway in Bedford, England; a Moravian prayer meeting on Aldersgate St., London; riding to the Oxford […]

A Fire to Preach

I will never forget the day when Bob Kerr, the District Superintendent of the North Georgia Conference called me on the telephone and told me about my very first appointment. He said, “Congratulations, Tim, the bishop has appointed you to the Nacoochee Valley Circuit.” I was told that I was the new pastor of a “four point” charge of four churches nestled in the beautiful mountains of North Georgia. I was fresh out of seminary. I had probably preached less than a dozen sermons. I had never conducted a funeral or a wedding and, of course, had never given communion.