The ultimate restoration of the whole world is pictured in the Exodus event. This divine embrace of Israel is a type of God’s embrace of the whole cosmos in the Christ event to be fulfilled in the new heavens and the new earth.
-Robert Webber, The Divine Embrace: Recovering the Passionate Spiritual Life (Grand Rapids: Baker Books, 2006), 136.
The IWS Alumni Association exists to celebrate the unique community established among the students and faculty while on campus in Jacksonville. Our aim is to encourage, edify, and inspire through Anamnesis: the IWS Newsletter, this site, and special events. You can listen to Bob Webber and Kent Walters introduce the Alumni Association during the January 2005 Opening Convocation in this audio clip.
IWS has confirmed that worshipping the eternal God demands intention, contemplation, passion, and a spirit of adventure. I have had the privilege of studying with some of the keenest minds and hearts in the Christian worship academy and have had the distinct honor of sojourning with some of the brightest and most gifted humble servants in Christian service today. The trajectory of my life’s work was changed the moment I began drinking from the fire hydrant that is IWS.
Learning under the direction of such learned faculty among a wonderful, diverse group of colleagues has
provided an enriching worship education that could not be replicated anywhere.
I cannot say enough about the wealth of information I have collected and the formative impact the experience of IWS has had on me. It is something I will be forever grateful for.
Studying at IWS has been like a breath of fresh air to me. Every time I make the annual trip halfway around the globe for the on-campus intensive, I come away feeling refreshed and renewed in my faith and worship life.
The two years I spent earning the master’s degree with the Gimel class of IWS came at a time in my life when I needed it. My first class in January 2017 ended with a discussion about allowing space for lament in congregational worship services. One month later, the lead pastor of the church I worked at passed away. I spent the next two months working alongside the associate pastor in leading our congregation through a season of lament and I was so grateful for how the Lord equipped me through IWS. That began a time in my career when I was without a professional mentor, yet the faculty of IWS was there to help guide me through how to incorporate all my learning effectively at my job. I was able to be a valuable asset to my congregation in writing liturgy, leading worship workshops, and providing stable leadership during uncertain times. I graduated in spring of 2019 and two months later a new lead pastor was hired at my church. The two years in my career when I needed help the most, the Lord led me to IWS. I am so thankful for my time spent there.
