120 - James I. McCord: 1919-1990

James I. McCord: 1919-1990

For nearly twenty-five years, 1959-1983, James I. McCord graced the masthead of THEOLOGY TODAY as Chairman of the Editorial Council. He was a strong supporter of the journal and always scrutinized each issue with care and critical perception. He was an omnivorous reader not only of theology but of history, philosophy, and literature, and because of his ecumenical contacts, especially among the churches of Eastern Europe, he was acutely aware of the perils and prospects of the Christian cause throughout the world.

During these years, a time of radical revision and readjustment in many ways for both church and society, he was serving as President of Princeton Theological Seminary. On the occasion of his death, February 19, 1990, Thomas W. Gillespie, Dr. McCord's successor, asked the Senior Editor to prepare a Memorial Minute to be presented to the Seminary Faculty. Some portions of that tribute are reprinted here for our subscribers and readers.

The decades of the 'sixties and 'seventies, when Jim McCord came to Princeton, will always be associated with student unrest and protests against all kinds of establishments, including theological education and the church itself. These were the years of Vietnam, the cold war, racial violence, political assassinations, and the pervasive fear in society at large that we had lost our direction, our vision, and our nerve.

In a statement that attracted wide attention at the time and is still often quoted, Jim McCord stated bluntly that "theology is now a shambles." In 1968, he presided over a conference that included such newsmakers as John A. T. Robinson (Honest to God), James A. Pike and Eugene Carson Blake (co-initiators of COCU), Thomas J. J. Altizer and William Hamilton (death-of-God), Joseph F. Fletcher (contextual ethics), Rosemary Radford Ruether, Sister Corita, and several others.

Ten years into his seminary presidency, he opened the academic year with an address on "Ministry in a Revolutionary Time." Somewhat later he spoke to churches around the country on "our theological amnesia." His "Words of Farewell" to the graduating class of 1975 warned about "barbarians" at the gate.

121 - James I. McCord: 1919-1990

These scattered but typical events and comments reveal a mind finely attuned to the changing times and alertly aware of fads and trends. Jim McCord never ran with the latest theological headline, and he never lost faith in people, the church, or theological education. He outlined specific signs of hope when theology seemed "a shambles"; the theme for the conference in 1968 was "Where do we go from here?"; if ministry is situated "in revolutionary time," he proceeded to say what kind of ministry that should be; if the church suffers from doctrinal "amnesia," then let us establish a Center of Continuing Education for pastors and others; whether there are "barbarians" at the gate or not, he urged graduating seniors to "seize the initiative."

When Jim McCord retired as Seminary President in 1983, he had time to pursue his dream of establishing in Princeton a Center of Theological Inquiry. It was to be a forum for scholars working on similar projects who could enrich each other as they worked under the same roof. He lived to see the building finished and the carrels for resident fellows filled. Special projects on theology and science were initiated, and books, articles, and exhibits began to emerge from the research. But when he retired from the Center in 1989 for health reasons, Jim McCord knew that the dream in its full potential must be left for others to fulfill.

It is the glory and, in some respects, the unfinished symphony of Jim McCord's legacy that his reach often exceeded his grasp. But as the poet reminds us, "What's a heaven for?"