Dr. Ronald Dean Worden - Biography I might say, as Dorothy told Toto, we're not in Kansas any more. I grew up there, the son of ministers and teachers, the oldest of five, and, when my father died young (age 35), a little bit of a surrogate father. Mother was strong, but we all helped. Schooling at Friends Haviland Academy and Friends Bible College, where my parents taught, then more schooling at George Fox University, Asbury Theological Seminary, Harvard Divinity School, and Princeton Theological Seminary, took away my Kansas drawl, but not my respect for the salt-of-the-earth people among whom I grew up. On my part, when I met Barbara in Boston, it was love at first sight, the kind that lasts. When she came to Kansas to meet my family at Christmas, she was amazed (appalled?) by the flat land and the long straight highway west from Wichita. But later, we spent nine years teaching at Friends Bible College/Barclay College, after three years at George Fox College, now George Fox University, and before coming to Houston for the beginnings of Houston Graduate School of Theology. Five and a half years of pastoral ministry, including two as a youth minister, gave me some perspective on my theological education and career in teaching. Assignments have included thirty-five years of teaching New Testament Greek, about half that in teaching Biblical Hebrew, and teaching every part of the Bible in addition to introductory and/or survey courses. Teaching the Gospels is a favorite, which reflects some of my specialized study. Other assignments have included teaching college-level pastoral care, philosophy, and-- would you believe—economics? (I chose a text with a workbook and a teacher's answer book.) As the academic dean for the first twenty years of HGST, I composed much of the first catalog using input from current and potential faculty, admitted and enrolled students, directed self-studies for accreditation, completed forms and papers for students' Veterans Benefits, and for the Immigration Service for students from Africa, Asia and Latin America. We have learned to get along in the fourth largest city in the country, which has traces, or echoes, of Kansas culture and life style. Our son, Mark Worden, holds the M.A. degree from HGST (1997). He has worked in youth ministry, but now works in computer technology at NASA. We share an Internet Web Site with him—he's the expert. In the early years of HGST, I helped organize Faculty Forums with papers from professors at Houston Baptist University, Texas Southern University, the University of Houston, Rice University, and the University of St. Thomas as well as HGST. This and related contacts helped the seminary gain recognition within Houston's academic community. The founding President, Dr. Delbert Vaughn, encouraged this sort of activity, and he and I participated in the Council of Southwestern Theological Schools (COSTS) from 1984 on. I served them as Secretary for one term, and President for two terms. But the most gratifying part of it all is the knowledge that many graduates and former students hold positions of leadership in churches and related professional organizations in Houston and beyond. |
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