The Celebration of Life for Dr. Dave Draper, President Emeritus, took place on Saturday, November 2nd at 1:00pm EST at the Winebrenner building on the University of Findlay campus in Findlay, Ohio. If you were unable to join the in-person Celebration of Life, you can view online by clicking here.
As part of the celebration, Dr. Brent Sleasman, current Winebrenner President, shared the following on behalf of the wider Winebrenner Seminary community:
Honoring the Legacy of Dr. David Draper
Many of you gathered together today know Dave Draper through his association with Winebrenner Seminary. And many gathered know Winebrenner Seminary through its association with Dave and Linda Draper.
Dave Draper provided an example of what it means to be a person of faith within an arena – higher education – that is often considered to be hostile to those who follow Jesus.
And, despite being an educator and a teacher, Dave’s heartbeat was for whole life transformation and not just information.
Those of us who knew Dave through our association with Winebrenner Seminary remember a spiritual mentor who didn’t just want us to know the content but for the content to form us into faithful followers of Jesus.
Over the past weeks I’ve spoken with many former Winebrenner students and faculty members who were deeply influenced by Dr. Dave Draper. It was Pastor Doug Nolt who shared the oldest story about Dave’s time as a student at Winebrenner. Pastor Nolt was a student at Findlay College in 1978 or 1979 when Dave was a Winebrenner student and an intern under the direction of Pastor Dick Dosh and Dave was working with some students from Findlay College.
Dave’s official employment at Winebrenner Seminary was from 1982-2015, with 27 of those years as President. At the time of his death, he was President Emeritus, an honor given by the Board of Trustees upon his retirement in 2015.
Dave was a man of vision. As President it was Dave’s vision that allowed this facility to go from an idea to this physical structure which opened in 2003. I was a student at Winebrenner in the late 1990s when this was just a point of conversation among Winebrenner, the University of Findlay, and the Churches of God, General Conference. [George Whitson, who also recently died, also played a significant role in this project – you can read reflections on George by clicking here]
Within Winebrenner’s history it is Dr. George Weaver who is rightly given credit for re-establishing Winebrenner Seminary’s commitment to biblical truth and remaining focused on Jesus. Dave loved George Weaver.
Dr. Dave Draper built upon Dr. Weaver’s priorities and made them his own. As current President of Winebrenner Theological Seminary it is my privilege to now work alongside Dr. Andrew Draper, as we continue to uphold those items that were central to Dave:
- Focusing on whole life transformation, not just information
- Serving as spiritual mentors for students, givers, and partners
- Prioritizing biblical truth
- And, most importantly, focusing on Jesus
That is the legacy of Dr. Dave Draper at Winebrenner Theological Seminary.