Cline Paden
Encyclopedia
Cline Rex Paden was a prominent Churches of Christ evangelist
and missionary
who, in 1962, founded what became the Sunset International Bible Institute
in Lubbock, Texas
. The institute offers college-style instruction in Lubbock and a series of satellite schools in forty-six states and in such countries as Austria
, Bahamas, Belarus
, Bermuda
, Canada
, Cuba
, El Salvador
, England
, Germany
, Ghana
, Guyana
, Indonesia
, Lithuania
, Mexico
, Nigeria
, Philippines
, Russia
, South Africa
, and Trinidad
. Such schools allow individuals to study the Bible
in depth with instruction adapted to their schedules and particular circumstances.
Paden was born in Wagner in northwestern Hunt County
near Dallas
, to Oscar Paden and Lona Paden (1889-1975). The population of Wagner never exceeded fifty persons, and it is no longer listed on road map
s or gazeteers. In 1927, the family moved to Lubbock County, where Paden later graduated from Idalou High School
. In 1947, he received a bachelor of arts
degree from Abilene Christian University
in Abilene
, the seat of Taylor County
, Texas.
Paden delivered his first sermon in Hawley
in Jones County
in west Texas. In 1949, he joined a missionary team to Italy
. There, he ran into much opposition from the police and the Italian government in his effort to establish the Church of Christ in Rome. At one point, the government ordered Paden and his brother, Gerald Paden, to stop the distribution of food to the needy and to close their orphanage
. After a lengthy legal fight, and with some help from then U.S. Senator Lyndon B. Johnson
, the Italian courts upheld the principle of religious toleration
, and Paden was allowed to continue his mission in the shadow of Vatican City
. His mission work was cited in several issues of Time magazine
. The following is a quote from the Sept 29, 1952 issue of Time Magazine:
Paden travelled to Italy in the midst of the Cold War without first applying for the visa needed to be a missionary under Italian law. Also, in Italy at the time non-Catholic churches were considered business and had to submit appropriate paperwork, which Paden avoided unlike Protestant missionary counterparts. After Italian officials travelled to the United States and presented documents pertaining to Paden's claims of persecution, the U.S. State department released a letter stating that "No Americans are being denied the right to worship in Italy."
In 1957, Paden went on a missionary journey to Denmark
. Though he spent five years with the Danes
, no sustaining Church of Christ work was established there.
Sunset International began modestly with six Hispanic
students. Paden believed that schools of preaching were needed to counter modernism
within Church of Christ colleges and seminaries. He served as the executive director, equivalent of president, of the school until 1993, when he chose Truitt Ellis Adair (born ca. 1946) as his successor. He remained as chancellor until 2006. Over the decades, Paden helped to establish other seminaries, including the Mid-South Bible Institute in Glasgow, Kentucky
.
He was also an elder at Sunset Church of Christ, 3723 34th Street, Lubbock, for over thirty years. As a result of his missionary background, Paden stressed global evangelism. He also urged Christians to shun debt and practice proper financial stewardship according to biblical standards. In 1973, Paden issued a manifesto stating that the innocent party in an adulterous marriage has biblical sanction to remarry, but there is no such approval to the guilty party. Paden occasionally aroused controversy, particularly after he endorsed a controversial 1995 book by Terry Rush titled The Holy Spirit Makes No Earthly Sense. Rush claims that from birth to his baptism Jesus Christ was human and not divine. According to this view known as "adoptionism", it was the baptism which made Jesus divine, a reference to the biblical line: "the Word became flesh."
Paden died at his home in Lubbock after a lengthy fight with Parkinson's disease
. Early in 2007, he was also diagnosed with the beginning stages of Alzheimer's disease
.
Paden was survived by his wife of nearly fifty years, the former Jo Iris Cathey; three children, Tim and Metta Paden of Lubbock, Terry and Becky Paden of Abernathy
north of Lubbock, and Tanja and Randy Couchman of Boerne
near San Antonio
; brother, Gerald Paden of Lubbock; two sisters from California
, Jeri Fox of Oceanside
, and Patsy Whitson of Lakewood
, and nine grandchildren.
Services were held in Lubbock on May 30, 2007, at the Sunset Church of Christ, and interment followed in Resthaven Memorial Park.
Paden's life work was recognized by honorary doctor's degrees from five universities: Lipscomb University of Nashville, Tennessee
, Abilene Christian University
, Harding University
of Searcy, Arkansas
, Lubbock Christian University
, and Pepperdine University
in Malibu, California. In 1969, Paden was named one of the first "Distinguished Alumni" of Abilene Christian University.
Paden was sometimes referred to as "The Gray Eagle", presumably for his keen vision and wisdom. Truman Scott, a Sunset administrator, wrote a biography of Paden entitled The Gray Eagle. Scott documented Paden's impact on many people, particularly young ministers and missionaries whom he trained over the decade
s.
Evangelism
Evangelism refers to the practice of relaying information about a particular set of beliefs to others who do not hold those beliefs. The term is often used in reference to Christianity....
and missionary
Missionary
A missionary is a member of a religious group sent into an area to do evangelism or ministries of service, such as education, literacy, social justice, health care and economic development. The word "mission" originates from 1598 when the Jesuits sent members abroad, derived from the Latin...
who, in 1962, founded what became the Sunset International Bible Institute
Sunset International Bible Institute
Sunset International Bible Institute is a Churches of Christ-affiliated institution of higher education in Lubbock, Texas. It was established in 1962 by Cline Rex Paden , a native of Hunt County, upon his return to Lubbock from an extended missionary trip to Italy...
in Lubbock, Texas
Lubbock, Texas
Lubbock is a city in and the county seat of Lubbock County, Texas, United States. The city is located in the northwestern part of the state, a region known historically as the Llano Estacado, and the home of Texas Tech University and Lubbock Christian University...
. The institute offers college-style instruction in Lubbock and a series of satellite schools in forty-six states and in such countries as Austria
Austria
Austria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the...
, Bahamas, Belarus
Belarus
Belarus , officially the Republic of Belarus, is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe, bordered clockwise by Russia to the northeast, Ukraine to the south, Poland to the west, and Lithuania and Latvia to the northwest. Its capital is Minsk; other major cities include Brest, Grodno , Gomel ,...
, Bermuda
Bermuda
Bermuda is a British overseas territory in the North Atlantic Ocean. Located off the east coast of the United States, its nearest landmass is Cape Hatteras, North Carolina, about to the west-northwest. It is about south of Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada, and northeast of Miami, Florida...
, Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
, Cuba
Cuba
The Republic of Cuba is an island nation in the Caribbean. The nation of Cuba consists of the main island of Cuba, the Isla de la Juventud, and several archipelagos. Havana is the largest city in Cuba and the country's capital. Santiago de Cuba is the second largest city...
, El Salvador
El Salvador
El Salvador or simply Salvador is the smallest and the most densely populated country in Central America. The country's capital city and largest city is San Salvador; Santa Ana and San Miguel are also important cultural and commercial centers in the country and in all of Central America...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
, Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
, Ghana
Ghana
Ghana , officially the Republic of Ghana, is a country located in West Africa. It is bordered by Côte d'Ivoire to the west, Burkina Faso to the north, Togo to the east, and the Gulf of Guinea to the south...
, Guyana
Guyana
Guyana , officially the Co-operative Republic of Guyana, previously the colony of British Guiana, is a sovereign state on the northern coast of South America that is culturally part of the Anglophone Caribbean. Guyana was a former colony of the Dutch and of the British...
, Indonesia
Indonesia
Indonesia , officially the Republic of Indonesia , is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania. Indonesia is an archipelago comprising approximately 13,000 islands. It has 33 provinces with over 238 million people, and is the world's fourth most populous country. Indonesia is a republic, with an...
, Lithuania
Lithuania
Lithuania , officially the Republic of Lithuania is a country in Northern Europe, the biggest of the three Baltic states. It is situated along the southeastern shore of the Baltic Sea, whereby to the west lie Sweden and Denmark...
, Mexico
Mexico
The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...
, Nigeria
Nigeria
Nigeria , officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a federal constitutional republic comprising 36 states and its Federal Capital Territory, Abuja. The country is located in West Africa and shares land borders with the Republic of Benin in the west, Chad and Cameroon in the east, and Niger in...
, Philippines
Philippines
The Philippines , officially known as the Republic of the Philippines , is a country in Southeast Asia in the western Pacific Ocean. To its north across the Luzon Strait lies Taiwan. West across the South China Sea sits Vietnam...
, Russia
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
, South Africa
South Africa
The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...
, and Trinidad
Trinidad
Trinidad is the larger and more populous of the two major islands and numerous landforms which make up the island nation of Trinidad and Tobago. It is the southernmost island in the Caribbean and lies just off the northeastern coast of Venezuela. With an area of it is also the fifth largest in...
. Such schools allow individuals to study the Bible
Bible
The Bible refers to any one of the collections of the primary religious texts of Judaism and Christianity. There is no common version of the Bible, as the individual books , their contents and their order vary among denominations...
in depth with instruction adapted to their schedules and particular circumstances.
Paden was born in Wagner in northwestern Hunt County
Hunt County, Texas
As of the census of 2000, there were 76,596 people, 28,742 households, and 20,521 families residing in the county. The population density was 91 people per square mile . There were 32,490 housing units at an average density of 39 per square mile...
near Dallas
Dallas, Texas
Dallas is the third-largest city in Texas and the ninth-largest in the United States. The Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex is the largest metropolitan area in the South and fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States...
, to Oscar Paden and Lona Paden (1889-1975). The population of Wagner never exceeded fifty persons, and it is no longer listed on road map
Map
A map is a visual representation of an area—a symbolic depiction highlighting relationships between elements of that space such as objects, regions, and themes....
s or gazeteers. In 1927, the family moved to Lubbock County, where Paden later graduated from Idalou High School
High school
High school is a term used in parts of the English speaking world to describe institutions which provide all or part of secondary education. The term is often incorporated into the name of such institutions....
. In 1947, he received a bachelor of arts
Bachelor of Arts
A Bachelor of Arts , from the Latin artium baccalaureus, is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate course or program in either the liberal arts, the sciences, or both...
degree from Abilene Christian University
Abilene Christian University
Abilene Christian University is a private university located in Abilene, Texas, affiliated with Churches of Christ. ACU was founded in 1906, as Childers Classical Institute...
in Abilene
Abilene, Texas
Abilene is a city in Taylor and Jones counties in west central Texas. The population was 117,063 at the 2010 census. It is the principal city of the Abilene Metropolitan Statistical Area, which had a 2006 estimated population of 158,063. It is the county seat of Taylor County...
, the seat of Taylor County
Taylor County, Texas
As of the census of 2000, there were 126,555 people, 47,274 households, and 32,524 families residing in the county. The population density was 138 people per square mile . There were 52,056 housing units at an average density of 57 per square mile...
, Texas.
Paden delivered his first sermon in Hawley
Hawley, Texas
Hawley is a city in Jones County, Texas, United States. The population was 646 at the 2000 census. It is part of the Abilene, Texas Metropolitan Statistical Area.-Geography:Hawley is located at ....
in Jones County
Jones County, Texas
As of the census of 2000, there were 20,785 people, 6,140 households, and 4,525 families residing in the county. The population density was 22 people per square mile . There were 7,236 housing units at an average density of 8 per square mile...
in west Texas. In 1949, he joined a missionary team to Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
. There, he ran into much opposition from the police and the Italian government in his effort to establish the Church of Christ in Rome. At one point, the government ordered Paden and his brother, Gerald Paden, to stop the distribution of food to the needy and to close their orphanage
Orphanage
An orphanage is a residential institution devoted to the care of orphans – children whose parents are deceased or otherwise unable or unwilling to care for them...
. After a lengthy legal fight, and with some help from then U.S. Senator Lyndon B. Johnson
Lyndon B. Johnson
Lyndon Baines Johnson , often referred to as LBJ, was the 36th President of the United States after his service as the 37th Vice President of the United States...
, the Italian courts upheld the principle of religious toleration
Religious toleration
Toleration is "the practice of deliberately allowing or permitting a thing of which one disapproves. One can meaningfully speak of tolerating, ie of allowing or permitting, only if one is in a position to disallow”. It has also been defined as "to bear or endure" or "to nourish, sustain or preserve"...
, and Paden was allowed to continue his mission in the shadow of Vatican City
Vatican City
Vatican City , or Vatican City State, in Italian officially Stato della Città del Vaticano , which translates literally as State of the City of the Vatican, is a landlocked sovereign city-state whose territory consists of a walled enclave within the city of Rome, Italy. It has an area of...
. His mission work was cited in several issues of Time magazine
Magazine
Magazines, periodicals, glossies or serials are publications, generally published on a regular schedule, containing a variety of articles. They are generally financed by advertising, by a purchase price, by pre-paid magazine subscriptions, or all three...
. The following is a quote from the Sept 29, 1952 issue of Time Magazine:
- "Older Protestant churches in Italy, which have complied with the registration laws, have not had any trouble." Said the Rev. Emanuele Shaffi, a Methodist, and chairman of Italy's Federal Council of Evangelical Churches (membership: 60,000): "We enjoy complete freedom of worship . . . We feel that our friends of the Churches of Christ are not entirely in the right."
Paden travelled to Italy in the midst of the Cold War without first applying for the visa needed to be a missionary under Italian law. Also, in Italy at the time non-Catholic churches were considered business and had to submit appropriate paperwork, which Paden avoided unlike Protestant missionary counterparts. After Italian officials travelled to the United States and presented documents pertaining to Paden's claims of persecution, the U.S. State department released a letter stating that "No Americans are being denied the right to worship in Italy."
In 1957, Paden went on a missionary journey to Denmark
Denmark
Denmark is a Scandinavian country in Northern Europe. The countries of Denmark and Greenland, as well as the Faroe Islands, constitute the Kingdom of Denmark . It is the southernmost of the Nordic countries, southwest of Sweden and south of Norway, and bordered to the south by Germany. Denmark...
. Though he spent five years with the Danes
Denmark
Denmark is a Scandinavian country in Northern Europe. The countries of Denmark and Greenland, as well as the Faroe Islands, constitute the Kingdom of Denmark . It is the southernmost of the Nordic countries, southwest of Sweden and south of Norway, and bordered to the south by Germany. Denmark...
, no sustaining Church of Christ work was established there.
Sunset International began modestly with six Hispanic
Hispanic
Hispanic is a term that originally denoted a relationship to Hispania, which is to say the Iberian Peninsula: Andorra, Gibraltar, Portugal and Spain. During the Modern Era, Hispanic sometimes takes on a more limited meaning, particularly in the United States, where the term means a person of ...
students. Paden believed that schools of preaching were needed to counter modernism
Modernism
Modernism, in its broadest definition, is modern thought, character, or practice. More specifically, the term describes the modernist movement, its set of cultural tendencies and array of associated cultural movements, originally arising from wide-scale and far-reaching changes to Western society...
within Church of Christ colleges and seminaries. He served as the executive director, equivalent of president, of the school until 1993, when he chose Truitt Ellis Adair (born ca. 1946) as his successor. He remained as chancellor until 2006. Over the decades, Paden helped to establish other seminaries, including the Mid-South Bible Institute in Glasgow, Kentucky
Glasgow, Kentucky
Glasgow is a city in and the county seat of Barren County, Kentucky, United States. The population was 14,200 at the 2000 census. The city is well-known for its annual Scottish Highland Games. In 2007, Barren County was named the number one rural place to live by Progressive Farmer magazine...
.
He was also an elder at Sunset Church of Christ, 3723 34th Street, Lubbock, for over thirty years. As a result of his missionary background, Paden stressed global evangelism. He also urged Christians to shun debt and practice proper financial stewardship according to biblical standards. In 1973, Paden issued a manifesto stating that the innocent party in an adulterous marriage has biblical sanction to remarry, but there is no such approval to the guilty party. Paden occasionally aroused controversy, particularly after he endorsed a controversial 1995 book by Terry Rush titled The Holy Spirit Makes No Earthly Sense. Rush claims that from birth to his baptism Jesus Christ was human and not divine. According to this view known as "adoptionism", it was the baptism which made Jesus divine, a reference to the biblical line: "the Word became flesh."
Paden died at his home in Lubbock after a lengthy fight with Parkinson's disease
Parkinson's disease
Parkinson's disease is a degenerative disorder of the central nervous system...
. Early in 2007, he was also diagnosed with the beginning stages of Alzheimer's disease
Alzheimer's disease
Alzheimer's disease also known in medical literature as Alzheimer disease is the most common form of dementia. There is no cure for the disease, which worsens as it progresses, and eventually leads to death...
.
Paden was survived by his wife of nearly fifty years, the former Jo Iris Cathey; three children, Tim and Metta Paden of Lubbock, Terry and Becky Paden of Abernathy
Abernathy, Texas
Abernathy is a city in Hale and Lubbock counties in the U.S. state of Texas. The population was 2,839 at the 2000 census, but had dropped to 2,764 according to a 2009 estimate....
north of Lubbock, and Tanja and Randy Couchman of Boerne
Boerne, Texas
Boerne is a city in the Hill Country of Texas in the United States. It is the county seat of Kendall County. Boerne was named in honor of Ludwig Börne, a Jewish German author and publicist, and its population was 10, 471 in the 2010 census. The city is noted for the landmark U.S. Supreme Court...
near San Antonio
San Antonio, Texas
San Antonio is the seventh-largest city in the United States of America and the second-largest city within the state of Texas, with a population of 1.33 million. Located in the American Southwest and the south–central part of Texas, the city serves as the seat of Bexar County. In 2011,...
; brother, Gerald Paden of Lubbock; two sisters from California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
, Jeri Fox of Oceanside
Oceanside, California
-2010:The 2010 United States Census reported that Oceanside had a population of 167,086. The population density was 3,961.8 people per square mile...
, and Patsy Whitson of Lakewood
Lakewood, California
Lakewood is a city in Los Angeles County, California, United States. The population was 80,048 at the 2010 census. It is bordered by Long Beach on the west and south, Bellflower on the north, Cerritos on the northeast, Cypress on the east, and Hawaiian Gardens on the southeast. Major thoroughfares...
, and nine grandchildren.
Paden's life work was recognized by honorary doctor's degrees from five universities: Lipscomb University of Nashville, Tennessee
Nashville, Tennessee
Nashville is the capital of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the county seat of Davidson County. It is located on the Cumberland River in Davidson County, in the north-central part of the state. The city is a center for the health care, publishing, banking and transportation industries, and is home...
, Abilene Christian University
Abilene Christian University
Abilene Christian University is a private university located in Abilene, Texas, affiliated with Churches of Christ. ACU was founded in 1906, as Childers Classical Institute...
, Harding University
Harding University
Harding University is located in Searcy, Arkansas, in the United States, about north-east of Little Rock. It is a private liberal arts Christian university associated with the Churches of Christ. The university takes its name from James A...
of Searcy, Arkansas
Searcy, Arkansas
Searcy is the largest city and county seat of White County, Arkansas, United States. According to 2006 Census Bureau estimates, the population of the city is 20,663. It is the principal city of the Searcy, AR Micropolitan Statistical Area which encompasses all of White County...
, Lubbock Christian University
Lubbock Christian University
Lubbock Christian University is a private Christian university associated with the Churches of Christ located in Lubbock, Texas, in the United States. It was established in 1957. A fall 2011 count showed 2,038 students enrolled at Lubbock Christian University, of which 422 are graduate students...
, and Pepperdine University
Pepperdine University
Pepperdine University is an independent, private, medium-sized university affiliated with the Churches of Christ. The university's campus overlooking the Pacific Ocean in unincorporated Los Angeles County, California, United States, near Malibu, is the location for Seaver College, the School of...
in Malibu, California. In 1969, Paden was named one of the first "Distinguished Alumni" of Abilene Christian University.
Paden was sometimes referred to as "The Gray Eagle", presumably for his keen vision and wisdom. Truman Scott, a Sunset administrator, wrote a biography of Paden entitled The Gray Eagle. Scott documented Paden's impact on many people, particularly young ministers and missionaries whom he trained over the decade
Decade
A decade is a period of 10 years. The word is derived from the Ancient Greek dekas which means ten. This etymology is sometime confused with the Latin decas and dies , which is not correct....
s.