Multnomah Home

In a recent Inside Higher Ed article by Wheaton College professor Timothy Larsen, the case is made that discrimination against Christians (especially evangelicals) in colleges and universities might be seen by academics as an acceptable blind spot.

Excerpt

Nevertheless, scholars ought to be concerned that Christians often report that the academy is a hostile environment. Are academics generally glad that such a perception exists? If not, how might it be dispelled? If it is based on genuine experiences, what can be done about a climate that tolerates religious discrimination? If the two stories presented here are merely assailable, anecdotal evidence, then why not gather information on this issue more systematically? Do academic institutions ever try to discover if their Christian students or scholars experience discrimination?

The Article

No Christianity Please, We’re Academics

In this, the final month of decision-time for students around the country about where they will spend the next year of college, it is important to consider such cultural issues. Have any of you experienced this? Is this OK? The name of Jesus Christ is offensive to many, and if you claim it should you not experience some form of discrimination? Or is this a double-standard in a segment of society who purports to be “seeking truth”?

Remember this article that made the rounds a few months back?

The Award

One fact that we still haven’t mentioned is that Dr. Paul Louis Metzger of Multnomah Biblical Seminary won an award for the article from the Evangelical Press Association (EPA).

More specifically, it was the

• EPA Award for Biblical Exposition
  4th Place: Leadership, “Walls Do Talk” by Paul Louis Metzger

What’s Next?

Never one to rest when there’s questions to write about, Dr. Metzger will be having another article appear in Leadership very soon – so keep your eyes ready (but honestly, if you miss it, we’ll post it anyway).

We often get messages from people around the world asking questions about what we believe, or what our stance is on [insert your subject here]…below is a great example of one of those. President Dan Lockwood took a moment to answer.

The Question

The Multnomah Doctrinal Statement says “the Father has planned all that comes to pass.” Could you please briefly clarify what this means?

The Answer

The Multnomah Doctrinal Statement section, which says “the Father has planned all that comes to pass.” is taken directly from such passages as Ephesians 1:11, “In him we were also chosen, having been predestined according to the plan of him who works out everything in conformity with the purpose of his will.” This statement emphasizes the sovereignty of God over all the creation and affirms that there are no accidents with God. It was included primarily as a response to “open theism” and “process theology,” which views some human events as occurring both outside the foreknowledge and outside the power of God to control. We believe these two views are unbiblical and unworthy of God.

Multnomah is by tradition “moderately Calvinistic,” and this phrase in our doctrinal statement, along with our statement about the security of the believer, are two reflections of this belief. We do not, however, imply that all things happen in a deterministic way (i.e., that God is the author of evil, or that human beings have no free will). That “the Father has planned all that comes to pass,” would include both God’s direct and indirect plan. Sometimes the Lord will directly predetermine things to happen (for example, the crucifixion of Christ, Acts 2:23). At other times, he will permit things to happen (e.g., evil human choices). The statement reflects a “compatibilistic” relationship between the doctrine of divine sovereignty and human freedom. That is, we believe the Bible teaches that both doctrines are true and that when seen from the perspective of divine revelation they are compatible—not contradictory—to one another. (Look again at Acts 2:23 for an example of this compatibilism.

Evidence With Faculty & Classes

Our faculty are encouraged to have differing views on what “the Father has planned” means in relationship to human freedom. Faculty opinions range from traditional Calvinism to forms of Arminianism.

In our theology and Bible classes at both the Bible College and the Biblical Seminary, all points of view are discussed fairly; students are encouraged to make up their own minds based on their interpretation of the Word of God.

Sincerely,

Daniel R. Lockwood, Ph.D.

What Say You?

Yes, that’s a lot of “isms” for one simple theology question (can any theology question ever really be simple?). Anyway, we’re all wondering what you, the community would say about it.

For the full context of this story, check out our posts tagged as Kigali. Or, if you already know, but want to get caught up on Update 1 or Update 2 or Update 3 or Update 4 or Update 5 or Update 6 or Update 7…

The Rundown

June 28, 2010
Dear Multnomah Family,

We returned from Kigali, Rwanda tired, but rejoicing. God continued to do more than we asked or thought during the June 7-23 trip.

• We lead African college students in two Bible Marathons (Luke & Proverbs)
• We visited three genocide sites to feel the heart of Rwanda and break our own
• We had three days of three hours each with 100 street kids with whom we fell in love
• We presented two Sunday services (Kigali & Kayonza churches)
• We visited a Kigali University and asked questions of an administrator
• We spoke at Africa New Life women’s groups & staff meetings
• We represented MU at the REST college dedication (books have not yet arrived)
• We ministered to two schools (800 students each) started by ANLM
• We formed close bonds with our translators and attended a staff member’s wedding
• We visited homes delivering food and sharing the gospel with four people responding
• We raised over $2,000 in support to supply food and support for the Kagayo festival
• We helped to lead a two day evangelistic festival at a refugee camp of 5,000 in Kagayo. About 1,000 attended and about 75 made professions of faith
• We all want to return to African friends and new converts with praise to God that we had the honor of being His ambassadors

The Kigali Konvey Team,

 Dr G, Noelle Schultz, David Ingram, Alisha Vang, Michael Martini, Frances “Fray” Jones

For the full context of this story, check out our posts tagged as Kigali. Or, if you already know, but want to get caught up on Update 1 or Update 2 or Update 3 or Update 4 or Update 5 or Update 6…

Last Day Activities

June 22, 2010
Today is the last day for the team. We joined the Kayonza church on Sunday. Then on Monday, we ministered to the street kids, did a little shopping at the market, and spent our last hours doing a bible marathon on Proverbs. It has been a good journey for all of us. Some of us even plan on coming back to Kigali in the near future, but we will see how that works in God’s planning.

Flights Back

Dorie flew out of Kigali at 3am this morning. Please pray for her safety and her long flight back to Portland. As for the rest of the team, we are flying out of Kigali at 6:30 pm tonight and will be arriving back in portland on Wednesday the 23rd, 2010 at midnight. So please pray for our journey as well.

Throughout this whole trip, we have ministered to people and also have been ministered to. The experience that we had had here is unexplainable and there are many things that words cannot describe.

Thank You For Praying

Thanks to all those who have read our daily updates and also a very big thank you to all those who have been praying for us. We could not have done it without God and prayer is a very powerful tool. With faith in prayer, the impossible can happen. God bless!

For the full context of this story, check out our posts tagged as Kigali. Or, if you already know, but want to get caught up on Update 1 or Update 2 or Update 3 or Update 4 or Update 5 …

Wedding

June 19, 2010
The next activity that was scheduled for the team was to attend Steven and Florence’s wedding. Their wedding cermony was just about the same as any American wedding, but their reception was different. During the reception, they had traditional Rwandan dancing, and both sides of the families had to welcome each other to the family. In the Rwanda traditon, there is a bride price to pay. The bride price is usually paid in cattles.

After the wedding reception, we came back to the mission house. We actually left the reception a little bit early. The days of the team returning to America are coming close. We are excited to come back to the states, but also very sad to leave the friends that we have made here in Rwanda.

Thank You!

Thanks to everyone for praying for the team and their health. Each team member has been on their feet and has been involved in all the ministry that has been on our agenda. It was because of prayer that each team member is feeling better and that we are able to carry on. God bless.

 For the full context of this story, check out our posts tagged as Kigali. Or, if you already know, but want to get caught up on Update 1 or Update 2 or Update 3…

Schools & Orphanages

June 15, 2010
Today, we went to visit the Kayonza school and it is amazing how that place came to be. Each and every brick of the school building was made by God specifically. Fred was telling us the story of how the place came to be and he told us about how a business man in Oregon just started promoting the school. The motto was “buy a brick”. So every brick that was bought by people of Oregon, has been put into the buildings of the school. Now it is a wonderful place for children to come learn primary school and secondary school. Next to the school are the orphanage homes. These homes are not ordinary because ANL made sure that the sponsored orphanages felt at home. So each of these homes are decorated with love and care.

Humbling Village

After visiting the school and sharing a little bit of what the team brought, we moved on to the home villages. These homes are so humbling. The majority of them were little huts, made out of mud and a little bit of cow dung, that held about five people. After visiting the villagers, it really made us feel more appreciative of the things that we have. These people have nothing and yet we, who are considered well-off complain about not having enough. This was definitely humbling.

Your Prayers & Our Well-being

Thank you for all the prayers, Dori and the rest of the team have been feeling a little better. We are continually striving to serve God and He is continually showing us His plan for us. God Bless!

For the full context of this story, check out our posts tagged as Kigali. Or, if you already know, but want to get caught up on “Update 1“ or Update 2…

Bible Marathon

Saturday, June 12
Today was the day that we were to hold our Bible marathon with the English-speaking college students. It was such an awesome experience to have it with the college students for they said that it was such an encouragement for them. We started at 9am and ended at 1pm. There were a lot of college students who came out to join the Bible marathon and these students were very excited to be there. It has been a good fun filled relaxed day for the team. Although we relaxed today, we know that tomorrow, our schedule is looking really full.

Church Service in Rwanda

Sunday, June 13
Church this morning was just so beautiful. The worship, the drama, the sermon, and the people. It was an experience that we would never forget. All the things that we planned for were multiplied more than we had expected. Pastor Charles gave the sermon message and it was straight to the heart. God knows what He is doing, and we are just leaving it up to Him to use the team as His tool to glorify His kingdom.

We attended two of their services, the first one was in English and the second one was in Kinyarwanda. After the service we attended the youth fun day and Noelle was put into the fashion show. It was so great just to laugh and relax with the people here. They are real friendly and just so genuine.

Pray For Health

Although we been having such a great time, some of the team members in the group are coming down with a sickness. Michael has been having some sinus problems and it has not gone away yet. Dr. G is getting a little more exhausted and his body is not feeling too great. Dori has not been able to hold down her food and is having to stay back from the activities we have planned. Fray has been having a skin reaction to something and David has been having an upset stomach with the medicine that we are taking. I just want to ask everyone to pray for our team members and their health. We know that these are just obstacles to stop us from sharing the Good News, but it will not stop us.

For the full context of this story, check out our posts tagged as Kigali. Or, if you already know, but want to get caught up on “Update 1“…

More Safe Arrivals

Last night, before the team headed to bed, Dr. Tom and Bonnie Kopp arrived to the guesthouse. It was great to know that they had arrived safely, even though they had complications with their luggage at the airport. After meeting with the Kopps, the team headed off to bed to get some rest for the next day.

The Dream Center

Our first activity in the morning was to go visit the women’s ministry at the Dream Center. We were picked up by our driver George, who is a very good driver on these crazy streets!

When we arrived at the Dream Center, we were able to greet the women, share testamonies, perform our skit, and give a message. The message this time was given by Dori Halsey, which seemed appropriate as she is a woman who has a great heart for God. For those who may not know Dori, she helped with the cataloguing of the Kigali books. She has helped in so many ways and it was an awesome surprise to know that she wanted to join the team.

The Skit

Right before Dori gave her message to the women, the team performed the skit. This skit had been prepared in Portland and directed by Noelle. She has been such a great director, giving the character roles to those who would fit the characters. Michael had been chosen to be Satan and he did such a great job of being evil. Dr. G had been given the role of Jesus. All the other team members were just the other demons needed in the play. After performing this play twice, once to the kids and the second to the women, we realized that it had been effective in the different ministries. Because it had been so effective, Fred suggested that the team continue performing the skit whereever we go and to all the different ministries.

Genocide Sites

As I mentioned yesterday, we went to one of the memorial genocide sites. Today we visited another memorial. Visiting there with the translators and tour guides has been hard on us all to take in all the information and graphic pictures of what happened in Rwanda. It is a different experience watching a documentary and feeling for the people compared to actually walking on the grounds of the places where people have been murdered. Although it has been tough during those memorial sites, the team has learned and understood more about the people here in Rwanda. They have been hurting for too long and now they need some healing. The team has the mission of healing the people through our messages of hope. The hope that God has not forgotten them and that they are loved by Him. This has been another good day for us.

For the full context of this story, check out our posts tagged as Kigali.

Safe Arrival In Rwanda

The Multnomah Kigali Konvey team has finally made it to Rwanda, Africa and had met Fred Katagwa at the airport. But before we had arrived in Kigali, we had taken a long journey from Portland to Washington D.C to London to Kenya and then finally to our destination. It has been such an experience to go on this journey together and learn new things together. Like Dr. G says, “Don’t be afraid to make mistakes”. We have been taking risks, traveling in London and touring that city when we had our 14-hour layover there. It was fun just being in that city. But that city alone was not the only one that impressed us. When we got to Kigali, the hosts of Africa New Life guesthouse, the driver, the translators and all who we have encountered have welcomed us wholeheartedly. It was just like returning home.

New Friends & Worship

This morning, our first activity was to go to the dream house and share God’s love to the streetkids. The experience there and the kids there are so amazing. Everyone wanted to be around us, everyone wanted to know our name, and most of all they really loved cameras and taking pictures. When we got there we were able to see how the streetkids worshipped and how they lived. Their way of worship was so amazing. They jumped with genuine joy for God, with only the bongos for beat and people to sing the lyrics for them to repeat. While we were there with the streetkids, we were able to put on our drama skit, share some testimonies, and Dr. G gave a message on the parable of the sower. Just being around these kids have really made all of us realize how little these kids do not have but how real their love is for God. It has been such an eye opener for all of us and I know that our lives will continue to change as we stay here in Kigali.

Stay Tuned For More Updates

After visiting the streetkids, we came back to the guesthouse for lunch and pretty soon we will be going to the Rwanda genocide memorial site. This will be very emotional, I know it, but it will be helpful for us to know how far the people of Rwanda have come after that incident.