Now that the search for a permanent chaplain is over, the chaplain’s office is transitioning. Since Chaplain Kellough’s retirement in 2014, the Wheaton community has been faithfully led by interim chaplain David McDowell. McDowell was stepping down from his church in West Chicago when Kellough announced his retirement. He was informed by President Philip Ryken that the position as interim chaplain could last only a semester or as long as an entire academic year, and McDowell said he is glad it was the latter. McDowell said, “As a community we have faced some significant challenges (this year), and I am thankful to have been here to provide support and pastoral guidance to … the student body as well as staff and faculty. I have grown to love you all and will miss you greatly.” McDowell will continue to serve as interim chaplain until the end of the semester. He plans to continue working for the church as an interim pastor to help churches in transition and to mentor younger pastors. The chaplain search process began in 2014 when a committee composed of faculty, students and staff worked with Ryken to review applications and conduct interviews throughout the fall semester. Finally, at the beginning of this spring semester, Ryken introduced Wheaton to its new spiritual leader, Reverend Timothy Blackmon. Blackmon hails from the Netherlands, where he is senior pastor and head of staff at the American Protestant Church of The Hague. Blackmon stumbled across the job opening last summer and “sensed an irresistible call to explore it further.” His history with Wheaton goes back to his college years in France, where many of his mentors and professors were Wheaton graduates. Incidentally, Blackmon also met Chaplain Kellough when he worshipped at Blackmon’s church during a yearlong sabbatical in the Netherlands. At first, Blackmon felt that his application would not go very far. However, the Chaplain Search Committee invited him for a Skype interview in August 2014 and requested to review his sermons and other writings. As the fall semester progressed, Blackmon was busy with several additional interviews and the mutual discernment process. Finally, he visited campus in January and was officially offered the position as chaplain. Because Blackmon is out of the country, much of the transition in the Chaplain’s Office is hard to detect. The change is set to happen in July to ensure a smooth transition into the fall 2015 semester. Marilynn Brenner, the ministry associate for care and https://thewheatonrecord.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/IMG_0048.webpistration, and Clayton Keenon, the ministry associate for discipleship and graduate chapel who is also moving on from Wheaton, both agreed that not much change can happen until Blackmon arrives on campus in July. This summer will be a time of significant transition for both the Wheaton community and Blackmon’s family. Blackmon said he has moved between countries several times previously, but each time it seems to become more complex. Blackmon and his wife are preparing for the move by house-hunting and looking into new schools in the Wheaton area for their four children. Blackmon said that it will be especially hard to leave his church in the Netherlands, at which his father served as music director for 45 years and his mother and brother still attend. While it will be hard to say goodbye to the family and city that he loves, Blackmon said that he and his family “are convinced of God’s leading and are all very excited.” Blackmon and his family will officially join the Wheaton community in July 2015. Blackmon holds deep respect for the ministry of Kellough and McDowell, and said he is “eager to build on their legacy and find ways of kneading the yeast of the gospel through everything that happens on campus.”