Tuesday, February 27, 2007
- NTS Connection
Alumni Spotlight: Dr. Dan Boone 
Dr. Dan Boone (’77) is the President of Trevecca Nazarene University in Nashville, TN. Dan also serves as the Visiting Professor of Preaching and Pastoral Theology at NTS. Prior to coming to TNU, he pastored several local Nazarene churches for more than 35 years with his wife Denise. Dr. Boone and Denise have three daughters: Amy (and husband Brent), Ashley (and husband Erik), and Abby, and two granddaughters Eleanor Grace and Anna Ryan.
Who at NTS influenced you and your ministry?
I shudder to think about my ministry apart from the influence of NTS. I took every class that Willard Taylor taught. He gave me a love for serious study of Scripture. I was shaped by the practical theology of Dee Freeborn, the gentle spirit of Harvey Finley, the careful thinking of Rob Staples and Ken Grider, the mental rigor of Paul Bassett, the frisky persona of Charles Isbell, the joy of participating in a conversion with Chic Shaver, and the grace of Chet Galloway. I learned leadership, worship, and Wesley from William Greathouse. Take these influences from my life, and I am the poorer for lack of their mentoring.
How has NTS shaped you and your ministry?
From the distance, almost 30 years since graduation, I believe NTS shaped me in specific pastoral practices:
• I refused to go into a pulpit half-ready. I suppose I imagined that all my professors were sitting in the balcony asking that I honor their investment in me, by serving the people of God to the best of my ability.
• I could not settle for sloppy theology in the face of life’s most difficult issues.
• I was not afraid to think outside the box and risk creative leadership, because I had studied the ever-innovative Wesley and been grounded in his way of thinking.
• I became a lifelong student. I’ve spent far too much money on books and still do… and would do it all over again.
• The message of heart holiness and social holiness still burns in me, because I was taught more than logical defense of a doctrine and pious clichés. I saw holy women and men interface with God and become like God in the process.
• I was given a theological capacity for the wideness of God’s mercy that includes lots more folk, lots more ways of thinking, and lots more friends than a narrow sectarian viewpoint would ever allow.
• I went to NTS before the Church Growth movement had blossomed, and still came away believing that churches could and should grow when the people of God lived out their calling in the middle of the world’s mess.
• NTS gave me the capacity to pick and choose among the unfolding fads of the past 3 decades, and to discern what was useful to the kingdom and what was cheap.
• I have NTS friends around the world who are doing God’s work with excellence and passion. They still inspire me.
How important is continuing education for you? For pastors? For ministry in the Church of the Nazarene?
If I have a hobby, it is teaching pastors to preach. The world has changed and people process messages very differently than 30 years ago. When I hear young seminarians preach, I am filled with hope for the future of the holiness movement. I have a deep appreciation for the practicing pastors who keep coming back for the NTS module classes, sharpening their skills and learning in an inter-generational setting. They are willing to engage in serious conversation about the ways of God in the world today. Being with them fuels me.
As a university president, I find my best help in the readings on spiritual formation and Biblical leadership. This past year, I selected 3 new commentaries on Romans as my devotional pattern. This also helped me prepare for lunch with my theological mentor, Dr. Greathouse. Did you know that he has been working on a new Romans commentary? I want to be that alive mentally when I retire from paid ministry (actually, I’d like to be that alive mentally right now)! Too many preachers die head first. The heart follows a close second, and their calling third. Continuing education is one of several practices that will prevent this from happening.
What spiritual practices are you engaged in and how have they shaped you and your call in ministry?
I find myself deepening in the practices of spiritual formation that have shaped the saints of the ages—Lectio Divina, fasting, Sabbath observance, care for the poor, journaling, and contemplative prayer. At midlife, I have a deep peace about the person God has called me to be and about the work God has given me to do. My deepest desire at this stage of life is to give enduring gifts to the next generation through acts of leadership, devotion, vision, and compassion. The passion of my heart is to think clearly and live vibrantly the kind of life that empowers future generations to champion relevant holiness as a way of life.