Review - "Occupy til I Come"
Two institutions contributed to developing the theological and ministry stance of Advent Christian clergy: Aurora College (University) and New England School of Theology (Berkshire Christian College). In Occupy til I Come Susan Palmer presents a comprehensive and fascinating account of the earliest years when in 1893 the Midwest Advent Christian Publication Society established Mendota College to train Advent Christian ministers in the Midwest.
By the middle of the Twentieth Century the theological stances of these institutions differed significantly. Palmer in presenting her record demonstrates that at its founding, Mendota College maintained a similar doctrinal articulation and a conservative approach to Christian living as did the New England School of Theology. Palmer does not, though, touch in this volume, on Orrin Jenks’ role in molding the theological stance of the institution. She stressed the educational philosophy difference of Mendota from the New England institution. In contrast to N.E.S.T.’s emphasis on training Christian workers through a Bible and ministry-based curriculum, Mendota college integrated a liberal arts education in an effort to produce well-rounded educated clergy. This program brought A. E. Hatch, a blind prophetic preacher from New England to Illinois when his efforts to incorporate liberal arts failed to gain traction there.
She does present an overview of William Miller and the movement out of which the Advent Christian Denomination developed. Besides surveying the denomination’s early history, she provided an overview of the developing role of higher education in the United States overall and in church-based training institutions.
The remainder (and bulk of the book) recounts the founding of Mendota College under the auspices of the Western Advent Christian Publication Society. The readable account covers the student life, the contributions of faculty and board members, the close relationship with the Midwest Campmeeting held annually on the campus, the formation of the Helper’s Union to support the institution, and the eventual rise to leadership of Orrin Roe Jenks.
Jenks is the pivotal leader of Mendota, who almost single handedly raised the finances for the relocation to Aurora, IL and the construction of the three anchor buildings. The account of the infighting on the board over rival locations of Aurora and Zion City was intriguing. Jenks held the course and completed the move to Aurora and became the guiding figure in the administrative and theological formation of the institution.
In the concluding chapter Palmer recounts that Advent Christian influence in the theology department ended with the retirement of Moses Crouse in 1978 and Asa Colby in 1980. Palmer observes:
On the surface, it seems like the occupying is over, but I would argue that another kind of occupying had taken hold—one not that different from the message given by Christ in the Gospels. Among other things, Aurora University prepares students to minister to the social and cultural needs of a diverse America—through its majors in education, history, social work, nursing, the social sciences, and more. Today Aurora University is far less homogeneous and less insular than Mendota College or the early Aurora College, and it no longer has a single religious stamp on it. But it has become fully engaged with the world, and so whether its students are Christian, Jewish, Hindu, or Muslim its mission points toward the concept of servants ministering to others. The urgency of and even belief in Christ’s imminent return have dissipated, but a major message of the Gospels is reflected in Aurora University’s core values—that it is important to engage in lifelong learning and serve others. (p. 468)
As admirable as these core values are they would fail to meet the hopes and dreams of those scattered Advent Christians in the early 1890s who desired an institution for the furtherance of the biblical message of the gospel – salvation and eternal life through Jesus Christ alone and a call to prepare God’s people for that coming. Most 21st Century Advent Christians consider that the task of the church as it occupies till Christ comes.
This book is a valuable resource for anyone interested in Advent Christian history and Aurora College’s influence.