Changes at the Top in the Caribbean

November 1, 2008

Jamaica is home to two Langham scholars, Las Newman and Anthony Oliver. Both are members of the Regional Council for Langham Partnership Caribbean, and both were present at the recent Langham Preaching seminar in Grenada. LPI International Director Chris Wright met and talked with them both in Grenada.

For the past couple of years, Las has been combining his work in Jamaica with being an associate general secretary for the International Fellowship of Evangelical Students (IFES), based in Oxford. This has meant some rather long-distance commuting. Meanwhile, back in Kingston, Jamaica, he had been appointed by the board of the Caribbean Graduate School of Theology (CGST) to take over the role of president of that institution when the previous leader, Dieumeme Noelliste, stepped down. Since Las was unable to do so immediately, Anthony Oliver stepped in as acting president for the past year. For several years Anthony had already served as academic dean of CGST, so this was an additional burden. Anthony is very glad that Las is returning to Jamaica this autumn to take up his role as president.

Anthony himself, like many Langham Scholars around the world, also pastors a church that is close to the seminary. This means that he is preaching most Sundays as well as teaching in seminary, running the administration, and trying to raise money. The task is endlessly stretching. Under Anthony’s leadership, CGST has been able to introduce several new Masters level courses and they are in line for accreditation not only with the Caribbean Evangelical Theological Association, but also with the University Council of Jamaica.
Anthony is an Old Testament specialist, who enjoys his teaching and tries to do some writing as well – though the pressures in the past year have made that diffi cult. Perhaps it’s not surprising that he has done a lot of teaching and preaching on the theme of Christian stewardship, including Bible Studies in the books of Chronicles, which he hopes to produce as a book.