Scholarship on Fire: A Personal Account of Fifty Years of The Nazarene College in Britian

The digital copies of this book are available for free at First Fruits website.
place.asburyseminary.edu/firstfruits

Preface

My purpose is to give the reader information and insight into the work and life of Nazarene Theological College, Manchester. In recording the developments of campus, student life, and curriculum it is my intention to give a sense of the excitement which the changes have produced over these fifty years.

This is not an exhaustive history of the college but is much more a personal recollection of events and people over this fifty year period. The mistakes are all mine, the perception and evaluations are those of the author alone. It has been the intention to give an honest summary of these years. Many people have helped me in the final drafting of the manuscript and I would be remiss if I failed to mention some of these. Dr. Tom Noble has readily advised me at several points and given valuable guidance. Dr. Kent Brower has supplied excellent information for the chapter which deals with the granting of degree status through CNAA. I have included the full text which he kindly drafted in Appendix 1.

Dr. Herbert McGonigle, the present Principal of the college, has read the manuscript and readily written the Foreword to the book. Revd. Gordon Thomas, Dean of Students, read sections of the manuscript and made valuable suggestions. A draft of earlier chapters was read by my longtime friend and colleague, Revd. Dr. Sydney Martin, who with many others helped make this history possible. My wife Nan read and corrected early proofs and patiently allowed me all the time I needed to write.

Our two children, Peter Rae and Marjory Szurko, have read through the manuscript and made editorial and other helpful suggestions which have gone to greatly improve the structure of this history.

My sincere thanks and appreciation must go to my publisher Dr. D. E. Okpalugo of Agape Press, for his patient guidance in getting this manuscript to press. His commitment to the project has been exceptional as has his Christian witness at all times.

To each of these I give my sincere thanks and know that the finished book has been greatly improved by their help.

To the readers I can only hope that you find enjoyment as well as information in reading the book. Its title was suggested by Dr. McGonigle and reflects the memory of the founding Principal, Dr. George Frame, and his early hope that the college would indeed become an academic institution of note and that always at its heart the warmth of commitment to the message of Full Salvation would burn. There are many interesting events left out and it may be that some whose lives were touched by the college will feel that these should have been included. I can only hope that you will understand how difficult it has been to decide what to use and what to leave unwritten.

In dedicating this book I am conscious of the part played by many people over these fifty years. My wife and family, my colleagues for whom I have the highest regard, college governors who trusted me and gave me such support over the years and last but by no means least a great host of students who through the years have added such joy to our lives. To all I offer this book as a tribute to the love and faithfulness which each has exemplified. My prayer is that Nazarene Theological College will remain true to its purpose and influential in its ministry.