Timothy Club
I was a bona fide member of Harding’s Timothy Club from 1974-1978. We were the hardcore Bible majors, looking for more than you could get in the regular 16 hours per semester of biblical training. It was Green Beret, Naval Seals, Lord Cardigan’s Light Brigade. We learned more about effective evangelism and about how to prove nearly anything: that Mormons are wrong, that instrumental music is sinful, that new approaches to the Bible were dangerous, that the Bible is inerrant, and that God, well, exists. There were also practical details covered, like about how ministers should use a loophole to opt out of Social Security—which I’m thankful I ignored.
(Note: I’m guessing the Timothy Club either no longer exists or is quite different. I googled it and the first entry led to a Facebook page started by a friend who was in TC when I was. He is the only member of the FB group.)
Two meetings of the TC stand out more than any others:
First, there was a fiery evangelist from Florida who came. Chuck Lucas. This was right on the front end of the “Crossroads Controversy.” He came and encouraged us to get off our complacent behinds and do something to win the world to Christ. He spoke of soul talks, prayer partners, and baptisms, and he encouraged us to visit them at the University of Florida to see how they were winning people and discipling them.
The second was a philosopher from Harding Graduate School named Thomas Warren. He spent over an hour filling the chalkboards with syllogisms. He showed us how easy it is to prove everything we believe. (If A, then B; if not A, then not B. Or did I just never understand it?) It was an evening full of major premises, minor premises, and (especially) conclusions. Rationalism-through-syllogism was the answer to our religious problems. We needed to all go study philosophy. Well, a certain field of philosophy. That night I thought that perhaps this man had the answers; later I would change my mind. To say the least.
Back in Timothy Club days
As I think about groups of ministry majors that I’m familiar with today, they’re quite different. To start with, they aren’t just “Timothys” (males). They are young men and women gifted by God and filled with passion. Second, their discussions aren’t usually about proving things or about improving church systems. They dream about joining God at work in the world.
That’s not to trash the whole TC experience. I still look back on it fondly. It fit the time, I suppose. Largely I went because Jerry Jones, chairman of Harding’s Bible Department then, asked me to go, and he was such a positive force in my life that this was reason enough.
Timothy Club declined some in my time at Harding. So, we took it over and changed the name to Alpha Chi Malachi (suggested by Dusty Rush as a joke…but I liked it…so it stuck). Officers were High Priest, Priest, and Scribe. Still exists almost 20 years later. Ken Neller sponsored it then – and still sponsors it now. Loved it. Good times.
Sam – I left Searcy in 1991. Was that about when it started? Makes me wonder what other living legacies there are that began with a Dusty Rush joke.
I appreciate your post, Mike. I grew up in a very fundamentalist congregation, and leaving that behind has been a challenging, yet rewarding, journey. What I find ironic about that journey is the fact that it was the principles I learned in that environment (trust Scripture over opinion, study Scripture seriously and for yourself, discipline yourself to follow Jesus above all other things, etc.) that led me to a very different place. I don’t value Scripture any less because I think gender roles should have no place in the Church. It is because I value Scripture so highly that I have come to that conclusion. Appreciating and accepting the function of myth in Biblical interpretation is not a letting go of serious, scholarly study, but an effort to take it more seriously. Even though I’m pretty sure the people I grew up with would now consider me a heretic, it is, in fact, their very training that led me down this path. I’m glad it did. My heritage does not shame me. It has given me a solid foundation and important tools to grow and mature in Christ. Thanks again for your post.
Hilarious! I was in that thing, too. Not by choice, but by force. As an older student, I just wanted a degree … didn’t matter the major, I just wanted the ticket so that when I went back to industry I could get promoted. So … I chose bible. The administration made Tim club compulsory for bible majors and would not allow me to be a part of American Studies. MOst of the meetings I was forced to attend were like yours … only we also had a good dose of ‘why God wants you to continue to Harding Grad School.’ Like many things Harding did, it was counter-productive, and I went to grad school at ACU.
One thing about Harding, though … with a few exceptions (you, lucas, Lucado, etc) they produced a consistent product. “Them Caminos are cloners … ”
Harding was such a bitter-sweet thing for me.
It was the best of times and the worst of times.
thanks for the trip down memory lane … but it does give me the creeps
Do you have any idea how much those bellbottoms would be worth today?
Those “Mutton Chop” sideburns are awesome!!!
Every time I see that picture I have to laugh!
As a music major/teacher, I wasn’t recruited by the Timothy Club. But I still had a fair amount of confidence in my conclusions. I still remember walking across campus as a senior, thanking God for giving me the answers. And then being on my knees two years later, telling him I didn’t understand much but really wanted to trust and just let him take care of things. I wonder if we’re not required to go through this trial of self assurance in order to learn to place our confidence in God.
Where I went to college, we had the “saving seven.” These were the guys who thought they had it all figured out (or at least they gave that impression).
On another note, I’d love for you to have a post about songs we sang in church when we were children and what we THOUGHT people were saying. (like “bringin’ in the sheets”)In one song we sang, it talked about being “wafted” next heaven’s fair dome. Thought about Elmer Fudd every time I heard it!
I’m with Amy — I can’t get past the picture. or the sideburns. Those sideburns are… an icon.
It even appears that Mike’s got the Brady-Bunch bell bottoms…groovy!
My name is Patrick, and I’m a Timothy Clubber. It’s been 20 years since my last syllogism….
I’m hoping there are no photos extant of me from that era.
I wish there had been some kind of club for folks like me, who grew up in a “liberal” congregation, felt vaguely uncomfortable (and imprisoned) at Harding, but were never really clear why.
Sorry, Any Mouse, Max Lucado got both his BA and MA from ACU, not Harding. He was in the class of ’77 for his undergrad, along with myself.
I had Dr. Warren for two classes. While he was a monster in class, he was a gentleman outside. He would chew us up and spit us out for an hour, then join us for ping pong during break. From THE man, to one of the guys in the blink of an eye. Quite a mystery.
I grew up on several of Thomas Warrens books including, of course, Logic and the Bible.
I find some irony in the patron saint of your club, Timothy, and the supposed pseudonymy/heresy a lot of people see in the Pastorals–a club for the people who made Paul say that women are inferior!
My parents were on the cover of Dr. Warren’s book, “For Those Who Love God and One Another.” My mom was his secretary. I was also at those Timothy Club meetings. At the time I thought it was cool.
Years later, I used Timothy as an example of church leadership, and one of the elders thought I was trying to become “the pastor.” Timothy of the New Testament had a much broader role in leadership than the Timothy of “Timothy Club” and the Churches of Christ.
Timothy Club was one of the reasons I didn’t major in Bible. My older brother was a Bible major and I was familiar with TC and its activities. I originally declared a double major of Bible and Psychology and when I heard that TC was required, I thought, “I don’t want to go sit in a room with a bunch of BOYS instead of doing social club stuff,” so I dropped the Bible major.
The other reason? The time that the wife of an esteemed Bible professor looked me in the face and said, “Lisa, I saw your name on a list of new Bible majors. WHY are you majoring in Bible? Whatever will you DO with it?”
True story.
I did not declare as a Youth Ministry major until my senior year just to avoid the Timothy Club. It was in it’s last days when I was there and apparently Sam and Dusty put it to rest! I am so thankful for my time at Harding and how God used many people to shape me. I was (am) a mess.
Sam Barrington,
I know your son. I know what you have to go through every day. I have been praying for you and now I know that you are doomed because of Isaac’s behavior. He has destroyed the Barrington reputation and this could be considered a run on sentence too. I hope your day rocks my socks and Isaac loves the alphabet (also run on sentence).