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Summer of Contentment

Sun, 13 Jul 2008 09:27:20 GMT

Hi every one!

I am in the process of moving this blog to a new server. It will have all of the services available here. I will post there and notify you here for a while.

Here it is: www.cedarville.edu/blogs/president

Let me know what you think!

Blessings always,

Travelling POMO Thoughts

Tue, 01 Jul 2008 20:01:08 GMT

I’ve been on the road a lot recently. Last week, I spoke at Student Leadership University, a program for high school students, first, in Orlando and from there I flew to San Antonio. This is a great program that attracts some outstanding young people. We always have Cedarville students serving as counselors so we have a good presence (although, I think they are there to apologize for me after I speak!). The program is held in some really nice hotels but some of the sessions are taught in the shark tanks at Sea World (swimming with the sharks - get it? I don’t teach these sessions. I’d probably do one on sheep and goats in the petting zoo).

I got back in time to drive up to Kalamazoo, Michigan where I spoke at Calvary Bible Church on Sunday. We got to eat Saturday night supper with Jeremy and Kelly Willetts (and 8 month-old, Jackson) and Sunday lunch with the Augustine family. These times are the best part of travelling and speaking. It’s always so encouraging to see what Cedarville grads are doing and to hear what is on their hearts. Meeting with families of current students (Brad Augustine is an outstanding student at Cedarville; at least that what he told me) is also quite a treat.

Tomorrow we fly to Florida to see my family. My mom is having a special birthday celebration. When we return, April and Jared will arrive with all of their worldly possessions and we’ll accompany them to Atlanta and help them move into their new place. When we return from there we head off for Syracuse where I will be speaking at a conference luncheon. From there, Lynne and I will disappear for a while. Even Jack Bauer won’t be able to find us.

POMO Thoughts

I’ve been working on a study of Postmodernism. Here are some early thoughts. This is just the intro; but let me know your thoughts.

Postmodernism is the cultural ocean we all swim in. We see it every day in shopping malls, internet surfing, American Idol, Facebook, South Park, 24 hour news channels, movies on demand, Pulp Fiction, iPods, instant messaging, and David Letterman. Academics describe it as skepticism, subjectivity, literary deconstruction, and poststructural architecture.

Many Christians get fire in their eyes and breathe out smoke whenever they hear the word, “Postmodernism.” And they have good reason. But before we get too bent out of shape over Postmodernism, we need to remember that Modernism was no friend to Christianity. We lived in Modernism for so long we became accustomed to it and allowed it to frame much of Christian thought and practice. Postmodernism in many ways is a rejection of this Modernist perspective. We cannot think of Postmodernism as a seamless garment of beliefs but rather as a collection of different assumptions about life, the world and our experience that challenge the Modern framework.

Isn’t this a good thing?

Yes and no. Indeed, the negative practical characteristics strike at the very foundation of biblical truth. We cannot forget that too closely tying God’s truth to any extra-biblical framework is like putting on glasses with the wrong prescription.

The negative aspects of Postmodernism are what most people view as dangerous elements for culture and the Church. Among the troubling themes attributed to a Postmodern mindset are:

*Many Postmoderns reject the existence of an overriding worldview that explains everything. The feel that the individual has the right and duty to explain the world only through the lens of his existence and experience. As a result, many believe there is no objective truth that everyone can discover.

*Postmoderns are suspicious of any person or group that tells them they have the answers to life. This is considered an attempt to control people by controlling their thinking.

*Many Postmoderns claim that there are no authoritative interpretations of any text, particularly the Bible. Writings are meant to be individually interpreted. Whatever the author intended in the past is not nearly as important as my personal encounter with the text in the present.

The negative aspects of Postmodernism are steeped in moral relativism, rebellion and individualism. Nothing new here. What is new is the acceleration and breadth of the Postmodern mood aided by information technology – particularly the internet – so that each person becomes independent of everyone else as a “stand alone center” for truth and morality.

This individual focus is Postmodernism’s most obvious practical characteristic. I call this the “for you” approach to truth. Just add “for you” to every truth statement someone makes and you have the essence of practical Postmodernism:

God exists . . . “for you”

The Bible is the Word of God . . . “for you.”

Jesus is the only way to God . . . “for you.”

Sex outside of marriage is wrong . . . “for you.”

As light and energy collapse into the vortex of a black hole, truth and certainty collapse into the individual person. Such a radical view of human nature and reality explodes all of our accepted traditional values and behaviors. Many people think that Postmodernism popped onto the cultural stage without any warning. It actually took a long time getting here.

More Montana

Tue, 24 Jun 2008 16:39:52 GMT

Many of you have asked for photos from Montana. Carl Ruby put together a powerpoint presentation with some of the photos he took. Here are some of them. Read the post below for a summary of the exciting adventure!

Mountain Bears and Pepper Spray

Thu, 19 Jun 2008 12:29:49 GMT

It’s been a while since I’ve been able to post. While many people look forward to the summer for rest and relaxation, my life picks up speed. I’ve been to LA, Atlanta, Albany and Montana. I’m headed to San Antonio and Orlando next week. These are all great opportunities for speaking, etc. God has been so good to us. Cedarville continues to get record interest in student applications and financial giving. It’s hard to keep up.

April and her husband are interviewing for positions in North Georgia this week. They may be moving there as early as next month if the Lord opens the doors for these opportunities.

Alex and three friends are in Canada – fishing and raising money to buy gas to get home.

This week the seven administrators of Cedarville University went to western Montana for a management retreat. We stayed at friends’ 11,000 acre ranch in the Bitteroot Valley. We did a lot of hiking, eating, talking and went whitewater rafting (where they made me sit in the front of the raft. Seemed like a good idea at the time). It was a great time and allowed us many opportunities for long discussions and informal planning.

I wrote this is the guest book of the ranch:

We came for our administrator’s retreat. We had a lot of decisions to make and planning to discuss. However, the weather, the hiking, the food, the animals, and the mountain beauty were all very distracting. In fact, they ruined our meeting.
We can’t thank you enough.

Speaking of the mountains, on Tuesday night, four of us (Bob Rohm, Carl Ruby, Bill Bigham, and I) decided to hike in the early evening and enjoy the sunset and hopefully see elk, mountain lions or, at least, chipmunks. Unfortunately, the trails and roads were unfamiliar and we found ourselves unsure of where were and where we were headed. To make it more interesting, the ranch owner had warned us about black bears who have a nasty habit of killing and eating anything smaller than a pickup truck.

By this time it had become very dark and we could not see the trail (if there was one) and we were feeling a little nervous about the black bear possibility. Each of us thought we could outrun the others but there was still an uncertainty about where and when a bear might show up. So we kept changing the order we walked. We came across a skeleton that looked a little too fresh for us. It was unnerving. At first we thought it was human but then we realized that not many people have antlers.

We had some “bear spray” with us. This is a small canister about the size of wasp spray, which is essentially pepper spray. It was just a small can but somehow it made us feel safer.

Not far from the skeleton we found a large pile of dung. Carl Ruby knelt down to quickly analyze it. He said it was warm, moist, and smelled like pepper spray.

Uh-oh.

Finally, we found a road that looked promising and followed it as fast as we could and came to some lights that looked familiar. Needless to say, we were relieved and finally made it back to the cabin a little before midnight.

We rushed into the cabin to tell our exciting story because we knew the three other administrators would be frantic with concern. Actually, they were all asleep - but the next day they did mention they were concerned that one of us might have the car keys and they wouldn’t be able to leave without them.

I’m glad I wasn’t holding the pepper spray.

Have a blessed day!

Warning: California is a Dangerous Place

Mon, 26 May 2008 21:44:44 GMT

I always enjoy California; however, I’m not sure California enjoys me.

I believe in a good first impression and some states need to think twice about how they greet visitors. For example, I used to see “You’ve got a friend in Pennsylvania” when I drove to meetings there. Or, “Come as you are; leave different” at the border of Louisiana. Or, the odd “Seize the day off” in Maryland. I thought “Don’t mess with Texas” was the scariest and “Welcome to New Jersey. $10.00” was the most accurate. But the signs greeting me at the airport in California win the day.

The very first was a large sign that read:

WARNING: THIS AREA CONTAINS CHEMICALS KNOWN TO THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA TO CAUSE CANCER AND BIRTH DEFECTS OR OTHER REPRODUCTIVE HARM.

A little further down a second sign gave a similar warning:

WARNING: THIS FACILITY PERMITS SMOKING AND TOBACCO SMOKE IS KNOWN TO THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA TO CAUSE CANCER.
PROPOSITION 65

And then a third:

DRINKING WINE, BEER AND OTHER ALCOHOLIC BEVERAGES DURING PREGNANCY CAN CAUSE BIRTH DEFECTS.

Before I had even walked 50 yards at the airport I felt as though I had entered a very dangerous place. I found myself being warned by the state of California the entire time I was there. I’m glad there are so concerned for me.

I attended a two-day conference in Orange County and then hosted a Cedarville alumni gathering on Thursday evening. I forgot that you really can’t plan on exact times for events because of the traffic. It took me 45 minutes to go 5.7 miles that evening. The car I rented had a GPS system and the girl informing me about which turns to take eventually just told me that I was on my own. She was a little impatient.

The alumni event was as good as the rest of them have been. Lots of enthusiasm. We had grads from every decade from the 1960’s on.

Flying back was interesting. The stormy weather between LA and Ohio made for some last minute flight changes. It all worked out, although I sat in the middle seat between two very large fellows who both took up all of their allotted seat area and some of mine. Fortunately, it was only for four hours. Unfortunately, neither one of them wanted to talk so I read and tried to breathe when the opportunity arose.

I also worked on an article on postmodernism from a practical perspective. It will appear in our Fall issue of the Torch magazine. As I was putting together material for this, Jared, my son-in-law, sent me a clip from a 60 Minutes interview with New England Patriot quarterback, Tom Brady. It is worth watching: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YdcJSsRfL8s

At the end of the interview, he talked about the emptiness of having achieved what everyone thinks is the pinnacle of life: “Why do I have three Superbowl rings?” he asks, “and still feel there’s something greater out there? . . . I think it’s got to be more than this.”

The angst of life lived at the horizontal level is overwhelming. I remember Muhammed Ali saying, “I had the world in my hand . . . and it was nothing.”

That’s why I remind myself that I was made by Him and for Him. Nothing in this world can satisfy my deepest longings . . . or yours. This biblical perspective puts trials and struggles in focus. It reminds me of Ivan Denisovitch complaining about the Christians in the Siberian gulag because they refused to give in to the ugliness of their existence. “Troubles roll off them like water off a duck,” he says.

I hope you can see hope and God’s hand in whatever challenges you now.

Thanks for your encouragement. You are a blessing!

Where's Your God Now?

Mon, 19 May 2008 20:43:12 GMT

Had a super time in Georgia last week. The alumni dinner in Atlanta was exciting. It’s great to see so many alums and hear what God is doing in their lives. Their enthusiasm for Cedarville is motivating. It’s been overwhelming to see alumni support for Cedarville double over the past year.

I left Atlanta and went south to speak at the commencement of Sherwood Christian Academy’s in Albany last Friday night. Very impressive school. Dr. Glen Schultz is the headmaster and a good friend. He’s one of those guys who sees the big picture all the time. It’s always a good experience just to spend some time with him.

He told me a story about how their Christian school is constantly challenged for their commitments. After a girls’ basketball game (where they were defeated rather soundly) the girls left the locker room only to be confronted by the girls on the other team. They were wearing jackets and then opened them to reveal shirts they all had specially made. The shirts read, “Where’s Your God Now?”

So, believing in God should guarantee victory in a basketball game? Where would these girls get that idea?

Maybe from us.

Too often we evaluate our faith by how we do in life. Success equals blessing. Many of us have adopted a form of the American Dream (“the most amount of comfort with the least amount of effort”) as part of the Christian message. We try to pray away failure, struggles and suffering as though God was not aware that challenges have entered our lives. We (I should say, “I”) tend to forget that God redeems us through our suffering, not always from it.

I have been humbled by believers in other countries who find suffering to be a natural part of life. I remember telling Janush, a college student in a communist country, that we would pray his persecution would stop. He looked at us like we were crazy. “Don’t pray that my persecution stops,” he said. “Pray that I will be faithful.”

Here I am praying for lighter burdens and they are praying for stronger backs. Needless to say, I hope the leadership of the girls’ team took the opportunity to make the rudeness of the opposing team a teachable moment.

Tomorrow I fly to LA where I attend a conference and host another alumni chapter event. I’ll return home on Friday.

By the way, a number of you have asked about the Summit program at Cedarville this summer. The dates are June 8-14. Check out the web-site for more info. I think there still may be room available so if you know someone interested, get this to them.
www.summit.org/conferences/student/ohio/

Also, April and Jared may be moving to the northern suburbs of Atlanta in July. April is looking for a job as a CEO of a failing company so she can turn it around and make the cover of Forbes. If this is not available, a job in marketing (she’s really good so it would be “super-marketing”) or public relations or actually anything legal would suit her. She’s has an undergraduate degree in Political Communications and a Master’s in Philosophy, so she is qualified for anything a politician and philosopher can do.

Thanks so much for your kind messages and encouragement. God is good!

Have a blessed week!

Becoming an Atheist

Sun, 11 May 2008 21:59:17 GMT

Happy Mother’s Day, Mom! (She reads this so I thought I would put in a shout out for her – I did call her so this isn’t my only HMD of the day. I sent flowers, too. She's a great mom!).

Our son, Alex, gave Lynne a card he made for her back when he was 12. He also read her a story he wrote when he was eight entitled “The Wild Wilderness.” Here’s an excerpt:

He woke up and found a woman sleeping next to him. He realized it was his wife.

“Hi Sweetheart,” she said to him.

“Hello, Judy,” he replied.

It gets pretty dramatic after this. They go off into the wild wilderness to pick berries.

It was a wonderful nostalgic Mother’s Day from our son.

We took Lynne out for lunch at McCormick and Schmick’s since she loves seafood. She got sea bass and I got sea prime rib.

Later this week I am travelling to Atlanta for an alumni meeting and then from there going down to Albany, GA to speak at the graduation of Sherwood Christian School. April and Jared are hopefully coming this weekend and I should be back before they arrive.

I have always found people’s spiritual biographies fascinating. Everyone has one. Many people can remember the moment they trusted Christ. Many can remember the moment they turned their backs on God, too.

For example, " Ricky Gervais, creator of the British version of the TV show The Office (which he Americanized for NBC), described his conversion "from Jesus-loving Christian to fun-loving infidel in one afternoon."

When he was about eight, he was drawing a picture of the Crucifixion for homework. His older brother, Bob, came over to him and asked why he still believed in God. As soon as the question was asked, Ricky's mom was alarmed. “Bob!” she said in a way to hush him.

Ricky Gervais wrote about his thoughts at that moment:

“Why was that a bad thing to ask? If there was a God and my faith was strong, it didn't matter what people said.

Oh…hang on. There is no God. He knows it, and she knows it deep down. It was as simple as that. I started thinking about it and asking more questions, and within an hour, I was an atheist.”

“Wow. No God. If mum had lied to me about God, had she also lied to me about Santa? Yes, of course, but who cares? The gifts kept coming. And so did the gifts of my newfound atheism. The gifts of truth, science, nature. The real beauty of this world. Not a world by design, but one by chance.”

(Ricky Gervais, "My Argument With God," Best Life magazine-April 2008)

It’s amazing how a person’s life can turn on a single comment, a conversation, an instant that seems empty to everyone else except the one pulled by the gravity of the moment. That’s why it is so important for us to be “engaged” all the time when we are with others. God can use us to speak a word or show a kindness that is life-changing. It doesn’t have to be profound – in fact; the most poignant words are usually the most common. But they are almost always the most heart-felt. “Consider others as more important than yourselves” (Phil. 2:3) is our guide

I hope you see God’s hand in your life this week and that He will use you in the lives of others – even if you are not aware of it.

Thanks for your prayers and encouragement!

Earthworms on Parade

Tue, 06 May 2008 21:21:56 GMT

Here is proof that Spring does come to Ohio. It’s all a little late this year because of an extra long winter but now

the birds are singing, the Spring rains are here and earthworms are coming out everywhere (Global Worming).

The past week was a blur. It seems the minute we (finally!) made it back from Istanbul I was going 100 miles an hour through our Board meetings and commencement celebrations. We finally were able to take a breath around 6:00 PM on Sunday.

Commencement on Saturday was wonderful and Kay Coles James brought a funny and challenging address. You can check out some of the activities here:
www.cedarville.edu/newsrelease/2008/Graduates_Encouraged_to_Put_On_Their_Game_Face_/2132272284

Kay shares much the same aggressive cultural engagement vision that we have. I have always been impressed with her ability to motivate large crowds and mentor small groups. She is truly a woman God is using to make a difference in the world. She was responsible for Federal Employees (1.8 million of them!) on 9/11. She said she was encouraged to shut everything down since they knew that planes were still in the air. She refused saying that she couldn't let the terrorists control by fear. She is quite a woman.

This week is catch-up week with a lot of year end issues to tie up. I am speaking at a youth lock-in on Friday night (sounds like fun – I miss my old youth director days) but other than that I am using the time to prep for a number of commencement addresses over the next few weeks.

Alex is taking an accelerated Spanish class. Six hours (seis horas) a day. In fact, each day is the equivalent of two weeks in class. After one day he is already swamped.

Good recent books to read:

Christianity’s Dangerous Idea by Alister McGrath

The Reason for God by Tim Keller

Transforming Worldviews by Paul Hiebert

Preaching to a Post-Everything World by Zack Eswine

Reframing Theology and Film ed. By Robert K. Johnston

What Jesus Demands from the World by John Piper

And an oldie but a goodie: Letters to a Diminished Church by Dorothy Sayers.

Thanks for your prayers and encouragement! Have a blessed week.

Istanbullient

Tue, 29 Apr 2008 21:14:38 GMT

Here’s how I spent my birthday: sitting in Istanbul, looking over the Marmara Sea, listening to the call of worship from dozens of mosques around the city. A different world for sure.

Lynne and I were in Turkey to speak at a Christian School administrator’s conference for leaders from across Europe, the Middle East and Northern Africa. Again, I found myself in the position of speaking to people I should be listening to. I am in awe of their commitment to teaching students in a Christian context. Many of their students (in some schools, most of their students) are not Christians. The stories they shared and the enthusiasm they exude made it a wonderful and humbling experience for us.

Here is Lynne in front of the historic Blue Mosque.

Here is one of the entrances to the Grand Bazaar.

We just returned. It took us 36 hours to get home. Flying from Istanbul to New York was fine. Once we got into the US, the travel deteriorated. We ended up having to stay in New York overnight but get up at 3:30 am to take a bus to the airport to get on an early flight to Atlanta so we could catch another flight to Cincinnati so we could . . . you get the point.

We knew we were in for an unusual travel day (and a half) by how it started. At the Istanbul airport, Lynne had some problems with security because she had a tube of toothpaste in her carry-on. The tube had a few more ounces than allowed by Turkish law.

Lynne was taken into a back room by three security guards (female) and searched. No doubt they were looking for a toothbrush. Unable to find anything else, they let her go – but only after taking her passport, adding her name and number to an official form and having her sign it.

Now that Lynne is on the toothpaste terrorist list, I’m wondering if it will be a hassle to travel with her.

To make it all rather rummy, the fellow in front of me in the security line looked like he could be on the al-Qaeda recruiting poster (“We want you – but only for a little while”). When the security officials searched his carry-on bag they pulled out no less than five large bottles of liquids. He rattled off what they were all for: body wash, hand lotion, plastic explosive, shampoo, hair conditioner.

They obviously were not paying attention and just smiled and waved him through. All this while my wife was being searched because of two extra ounces of Crest.

Now that we are jet-lagged and brain-dead, we are ready for our Trustee meetings and all of the celebrations that accompany graduation. These are bittersweet days because we know that we will not see many of these students again in this life. But, as C. S. Lewis reminds us, “Christians never say goodbye for the last time.”

Thanks for your prayers and encouragement. Have a blessed week.

The Purpose-Driven Dixie Chick

Sun, 20 Apr 2008 22:11:26 GMT

This past weekend was super. Lynne and I enjoyed the annual “elliv” program Saturday night and then hosted several hundred graduating seniors at our home Sunday afternoon. In spite of the monsoonal forecast, it was a beautiful day for a reception.

It’s always encouraging to hear soon-to-be graduates talk about their time at Cedarville. The changes that occur in a person’s life during college are not only dramatic (because of their age) but foundational for the rest of their lives. Many find the college years an opportunity to delay maturity by sowing (and reaping) wild oats and other forms of licentious grain. This is, of course, celebrated in culture, movies, etc. Former Duke Professor Will Willimon’s book, The Abandoned Generation, describes the reality that many (most?) college students are abandoned by significant adults in college. Their lives are shaped by other students as well as RA’s and Teaching Assistants not much older than the students themselves. The traditional college age is filled with a great need for interaction, mentoring and challenging by older adults to provide a context for the natural questions, rebellion, and doubts that are part of growing up.

The consequence of this abandonment, says Willimon, is the use of alcohol as an anesthetic to deaden the emptiness. In fact, most state university presidents will tell you that drinking is the number one social problem on campus.

USA Today asked 2000 people, “If you could ask God one question, what would it be?” I thought the answer would be along the lines of, “Is there life after death?, “Is there really only one right religion?” or “What happened to the Dixie Chicks?” but the answer was, “What is the purpose for my life?” Very postmodern in one sense but certainly one of the ultimate questions. This explains why so many books and programs that focus on “purpose” resonate with people. (Think Rick Warren’s “Purpose-Drive Life” or Eckhart Tolle and Oprah’s, “A New Earth: Awakening to Your Life’s Purpose” – both the biggest best-sellers of the past few years).

College students have this desire to know why they are here more than the average person. They are in a position to do something about it by what they study and the experiences they have in college.

It makes sense that a Christ-centered university has a leg up on this but we cannot take that for granted. It’s too easy to say, “My future is in the hands of God” (which is true). It is vital that students explore their abilities, gifts, and experiences knowing they have been uniquely shaped by God to guide them into a job choice and field of service. This makes us think more specifically about how we can expand this area of exploration at Cedarville. I am grateful that we have so many faculty and staff who “get it” in this area of ministry.

Lynne and I are headed to Istanbul on Tuesday. I’ll be speaking to educators from Europe and Northern Africa. Sure would appreciate your prayers.

Have a blessed week!