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A Few Favorite Quotes: "Great spirits have always encountered violent opposition from mediocre minds." —Albert Einstein "To avoid criticism do nothing, say nothing, be nothing." —Elbert Hubbard "It's almost impossible for liberals to brainwash people who can read." —Ann Coulter “I am quite conscious that my speculations run beyond the bounds of true science.” —Charles Darwin (cited by Adrian Desmond and James Moore, Darwin, New York: W.W. Norton and Company, 1991) p. 456. “It’s supposed to be hard. If it wasn’t hard, everyone would do it. The hard is what makes it great.” —Tom Hanks, as the character Jimmy Dugan speaking to a player in the movie “A League of Their Own.” "Always have a dream in one hand and a plan in the other." —Janice G. Taitano "He who has all the answers hasn't heard all the questions." —Rick Walston From the PresidentHello and welcome to the CES website. I am often asked what theological persuasion or denominational affiliation CES has. Well, as you can tell from looking at our statement of fundamental beliefs, we are a conservative Christian school. Denomination? We have various people on our faculty, and these people represent various denominations. On our faculty are Pentecostal members and Reformed members. We have cessationists and continuationists. We have people who are Independent Baptist and people who are Reformed Baptist. We have Methodists and Jewish-Messianic. There are Presbyterian USA and Christian & Missionary Alliance, and more. Why? We believe that an institution of higher learning should teach its students how to think and not simply how to parrot. We do, as I said above, have a statement of faith to which we all agree and adhere. Beyond these basic and essential points of the Christian faith, however, room is left for discussion and debate. It is not our goal to make our students think alike or believe the same exact thing. It is our goal to help them learn how to think critically and be able to evaluate varying theological and philosophical perspectives and ideas. Inevitably, the next question is, "Well, what is your theological persuasion?" First let me say that CES is not built upon its president. The next president of CES (whoever that may be) might be a person with opposing theological leanings from me. (Opposing in the non-essentials.) However, this is equally as tough for me to answer because my background is eclectic. I was first baptized as a new believer in an Independent Reformed Baptist church. I studied in, learned from, and went in the direction of the Reformed Tradition. Then, I attended an Assemblies of God church for a few years. I studied at a charismatic Bible college and then transferred to a decidedly non-charismatic, Christian college to finish my undergraduate studies. I went on with that school to earn my first Master's degree, and then I later earned an M.Div. from a Reformed seminary. Capping off my eclectic-educational career, I earned a D.Min. at an Evangelical school, and a Ph.D. with a university in the Reformed tradition. I have pastored in both Assemblies of God churches and Independent churches, and I presently attend The Summit, an Evangelical Free church, whose pastor, The Rev. Ross Holtz, is Reformed. (For more personal information about me, see favorites.html) My longtime friend Tyler Ramey coined a phrase that I like, "Pentellectual" (an intellectual Pentecostal). So, if you don't mind, I am a Conservative Evangelical Pentellectual (for more about this, see Coffee Talk #77). In brief, I am a firm believer in Jesus Christ and in the fact that the Bible is our sole rule of faith and practice. About the PresidentEducational Background:
Doctor of Ministry from Bakke Graduate University (formerly, Northwest Graduate School) Seattle, WA. Dr. Walston's doctoral dissertation for the D.Min. was: "An Investigation of the Motivational Gifts Theory of Romans 12" (in which he combined psychological personality types with the theory of Motivational Gifts). Master of Divinity from Korea Reformed Theological Seminary, Seoul, Korea. Master of Religion from Warner Pacific College, Portland, OR. Rick's master's thesis for this degree was: "Divorce and Remarriage: An Amplification of the Assemblies of God Position Paper on Divorce and Remarriage." Dr. Stanley M. Horton served as Rick's primary thesis reader. ABT for the Master of Arts in Humanities California State University, Dominguez Hills, CA. Bachelor of Arts from Warner Pacific College, Portland, OR. Associate of Practical Theology from Christ For The Nations Institute, Dallas, TX. Visual and Audio Media: Written Media: Awards: Ministry & Affiliations: Professor:
He has written numerous and various articles for magazines and newspapers: See some of Dr. Walston's articles at Coffee Talk |
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