(Just in case you don’t want to read our bloviating below, you can go straight to the source at the New Wine, New Wineskins Blog.)
Christian Faith and “The Big Game”
Just in time for the Superbowl this Sunday, February 7th many media outlets are gearing up by publishing stories ranging from Christian faith in sports to pro-life ads during half-time.
As is usually necessary, much of the value in what Dr. Metzger had to say gets stripped out for the sake of the writer’s needs within the story. This typically results in only a portion of the quote being used, thereby leaving much to the imagination. In this particular article, Dr. Metzger’s quote deals with the issue of a famous Christian football player named Tim Tebow who is featured in an ad (produced by Focus on the Family), espousing the positive results from a pro-life choice made by his mother. This ad will be featured during the Superbowl this year and it has raised the ire of many groups who call it “anti-abortion” and the like.
The Quote
“It could very well be a great message, but is it a good venue?” asked Paul Louis Metzger, who teaches theology and culture at Multnomah Biblical Seminary in Portland, Ore. “Is it helpful to the discussion, or does it up the volume, so to speak, on the culture war rhetoric?”
That’s right! College Preview starts tomorrow (February 4th-5th, 2010) and it looks like there are lot’s of previewers coming this year! If you’d like to “try before you buy” the college experience, then this is a great opportunity for you! (or someone you know!)
By the way, if you are thinking of starting the Bible College this coming Fall 2010, then go hang out with your future classmates at the MU 2010 Facebook Group.
Now that we’ve got your attention with fancy words like “sustainable” and “hybrid”, we actually have an interesting article we found some time back that discusses the merits of education that is a blend of online and in-person activities (hence the “hybrid” terminology!).
Turns out, little ol’ Multnomah is already doing this with what we call “distributed learning” at the Seminary. We call it Multnomah Connect. Not only can you take seminary classes online, but you can take them at our Reno-Tahoe or Anchorage sites as well. Then, when you’re ready, you can finish it all up with a visit to the Portland campus. (Somewhere in here, we hear the word “sustainable” too. Yikes!)
There are still a handful of tickets left for tonights sold out game at the Rose Garden! These tickets need a home! (Oh, and you can also buy them for non-Multnomah buddies too!)
Here’s our original post about this exciting event:
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Come to the 3rd Annual Multnomah Night with the Blazers. (This time we’re giving away a free tote-bag too!)
This is an excerpt from a letter sent to donors who give to student aid and other student support causes.
January 31, 2008
Often in my letters, I like to paint a verbal picture of a student or alumnus, describing how Multnomah is impacting their life on campus right now or in God’s work around the world. At the beginning of a new year, however, let me present a mosaic of student voices to offer unique and encouraging perspectives on Multnomah’s role in shaping lives.
Kelsey Entz, a sophomore from Salem minoring in psychology, wanted an education that upheld biblical perspectives and imparted biblical values. For her, Multnomah is that place. She appreciates the sense of community, coupled with challenges to deepen her experience with God. “Multnomah is a place where we all share a common bond, a common mission in Christ,” she observes, “yet there is a diversity of student perspectives and experiences that enlarges my world view.”
A fifth semester senior from Reno, NV, Ted Jones majors in youth ministry under Dr. Rob Hildebrand. Ted learned of Multnomah through Reno’s Meadows Bible Institute. “My passion is youth ministry,” exclaims Ted, “and Multnomah’s YM program is tops.” But it’s the Multnomah community that Ted will never forget. “Relationships with students and faculty have impacted and changed me the most,” he says.
Heather Peacock transferred from a California Bible college. A second semester freshman, she is one of our first students to enroll in the new teacher education program. She was aware of Multnomah, drawn to the college because of its accreditation, but it was the new teacher education program that accelerated her decision. “I so appreciate Dr. Debi Miller,” says Heather. “She is a wonderful teacher and mentor, as well as a great program advisor for my interest in public school teaching.”
New to the seminary is Vitaliy Khashchuk, who begins the Friday-only Grad program this semester. Originally from the Ukraine, Vitaliy moved to Multnomah from Los Angeles with his wife Sharon and twenty month-old son David to study the Scriptures and prepare for ministry. “At first I didn’t think the timing was right,” reflects Vitaliy, “but encouragement from alumnus Andrew Romanov and from his pastor reinforced his sense that God was leading him to Multnomah right away. “I’m really looking forward to knowing the Bible better,” he says, “and allowing God to prepare me for an expanded ministry.”
Laura May is a pharmacist who commutes weekly from Olympia, WA for the Friday-only program. “I’ve known about Multnomah for years,” she explains, “but when Prof. Carley Wecks spoke at a church conference three years ago, I began thinking about the Grad program.” With a growing hunger to get deeper into the Word, she decided to look into the Multnomah’s Friday-only program more seriously. “The biblical emphasis at Multnomah was even better than I expected,” she says,” because the Word of God is central in all the classes, not just the Bible ones.” That, coupled with the personal encouragement of professors and the regular classroom prayer, has enriched Laura’s academic experience.
Community. Ministry preparation. Relationships. Caring professors. A deep commitment to the Word of God. These are some of the spiritual “tiles” of our college and seminary mosaic. By God’s grace, our students are experiencing life change. I believe God will use them to change the world.
Dr. Lockwood joined 95 students from Multnomah University, who gave up their holiday “day off”, to take part in the first ever college and university MLK Jr Day of Service here in Portland. Estimates of 1,200-1,300 students were at the rally from 11 colleges and universities and 1,100 at the service projects.
Immediately following the rally, student’s boarded busses for project sites across Portland. There was a wide variety of projects included refurbishing schools, churches and community centers.
The day inspired some intense conversation about the meaning of service and what students can do with their skills and talents! MU students really valued working with other college students and learning why they serve compared to why MU students were serving.
History
In 1968, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. proclaimed, “Everybody can be great because everybody can serve.” Each year, colleges and universities hold events in honor of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. throughout the country. This year, these efforts became collaborative; to enable college students from around the Portland Metro area both learn and serve together for greater community-wide impact.
Today’s guest post features some sound advice from a Multnomah student about how to easily raise funds for your college education. What’s the best part? She has the college funding to back up her advice!
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My name is Kaitlyn Reidt and I’m a junior majoring in elementary education. My search for scholarships started my senior year of high school and it has been really beneficial to me. I didn’t want to have to take out loans to pay for school so I applied for scholarships and have received $21,100 in funds since I started Multnomah. Scholarships are worth the work and they are money that doesn’t need to be paid back! I’m going to give you a few tips about where to look for scholarships and what criteria most scholarships look for in applicants.
Sources for Scholarships
Sources for scholarships range anywhere from the internet to businesses to private funds. Some internet sites that I have found useful are:
www.fastweb.com – this site has you fill out a profile and sends scholarship applications your way that you meet the criteria for.
www.brokescholar.com – this site is similar to fastweb and can direct you to other sites with scholarship availability.
Beyond the internet, a student can look at local businesses in the area. Some restaurants have scholarships, insurance agencies have them, churches usually want to fund students attending a Bible College, and another good place to look would be with organizations such as the VFW or the Masons.
Scholarship Criteria
Scholarships are usually quite specific on the type of applicant they want to receive their funds. I have found that several things listed on scholarship applications ask for the same type of materials, so I have provided you with a list of the most common criteria for a scholarship applicant.
Character-the scholarship committees want to know that you are a trustworthy and worthy applicant, so you need to illustrate to some degree the type of character that you possess.
Scholastic Ability-GPA does factor into applications for scholarships. It is not the only thing that is looked at, but it does often decide whether a person is eligible to apply for a scholarship or not. But don’t fear! Not all scholarships have a minimum GPA for their applicants.
Community Service/Campus Involvement-scholarship committees are looking for well-rounded applicants. It is important that you are involved in your community with volunteer activities. You can help at your church, volunteer for a non-profit organization, or be a part of a club at your school. The more activities the better! Scholarship committees want students who are involved not only in school, but the community as well.
Essays-There are usually 2-4 essay questions on scholarship applications that ask questions like, “What do you want to do when you graduate,” “What types of community service activities have you been involved in,” and other personal questions. These are considered heavily, so it is important that correct grammar and spelling be used in these.
$250 an Hour? Really?
Scholarship applications take anywhere from 1 hour to 10 hours. They may seem time consuming, but think about taking 2 hours to apply for a $500 scholarship. You just made $250 an hour! I’d say that’s a time investment well worth it. If you have any questions or want help with scholarships, e-mail me at finaid@multnomah.edu.
In April 2009, Oregon Business magazine sent out an anonymous, 50-question survey to employees of small businesses all over Oregon. They also conducted an “independent assessment of the nonprofit employers’ workplace practices.”
The result? Multnomah University was ranked #22 in the “Large Organization” category (over 75 employees worldwide) of “The 100 Best Nonprofits to Work for in Oregon”. The list included well-known non-profits like the Oregon Research Institute, the Make-A-Wish Foundation, the American Cancer Society, the Girl Scouts, the Oregon Humane Society, and OHSU Foundation (MU ranking higher than the last three).
Ranking Criteria
Organizations were ranked according to benefits and compensation, work environment, decision-making and trust, and career development and learning. Companies were placed into small, medium, and large categories according to employee number. More than 200 Oregon nonprofit organizations participated in the survey.
Thank You’s
Big thanks to all of the Multnomah employees who participated in the survey, and to Multnomah itself for being such a great place to work!
Multnomah University’s Director of IT Brenda Gibson sent out a message today, warning all of us in the Multnomah family about a new email phishing scam.
A Note From Brenda Gibson In IT
Good afternoon Multnomah Family,
I know I have sent several of these warnings out in the past couple of months, but last evening a student email account was compromised because he received the following email account and responded to it. This one looks pretty legitimate, but it is not. Please remember IT will never send a generic email account telling you to reset your account settings.
Please remember to be ever vigilant as spammers are getting trickier and using more and more effective ruses to get you to give them your confidential information.
The Suspicious Email
Here is the email Mrs. Gibson references in her warning (all links removed):
Dear user of the multnomah.edu mailing service!
We are informing you that because of the security upgrade of the mailing service your mailbox ***email removed*** settings were changed. In order to apply the new set of settings click on the following link:
***link removed***
Best regards, multnomah.edu Technical Support.
Message-ID#VXTG3IKQO60TDAOKU3XBAD7T3R26G25329
Be Careful
Remember, Multnomah’s IT “will never send a generic email account telling you to reset your account settings.” If you receive any such email, notify the IT department immediately at 503.251.6555 or helpdesk@multnomah.edu.
What Dr. Metzger Wants Us To Know
