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Autumn
2001 Issue
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Hope in the Face of Hatred
Wheaton
College President Duane Litfin and his wife, Sherri, were on sabbatical
in England on September 11. In a letter to the campus community
dated September 12, Dr. Litfin wrote: “We grieve, but not as those
who have no hope. Our hope is in the Lord, and we are asking Him
to comfort and bring healing to those who have borne the brunt
of this attack, to their families, and to us as well.” He delivered
the following remarks in his first chapel address after the tragedy.
 Tuesday,
September 11, 2001. A new date for the annals of infamy, one whose
images were burned onto our hearts with searing pain, and branding-iron
permanence. While we watched that day unfold, an abyss seemed
to open at our feet, one that yawns before us still. It is as
if the world is holding its collective breath, waiting to see
whom the chasm will swallow next.
Wheaton’s
campus continues to mourn the dreadful loss and devastation terrorists
inflicted in a single hour. We do not grieve as those who have
no hope, but we do grieve. These past weeks have been difficult.
Yet I can also report that the campus remains alive with a renewed
commitment to the Lord. We have been inspired by the heroism,
courage, and faith of so many in the face of such unspeakable
hatred and terror that we can only seek to emulate them. These
men and women rose to the challenge of the extraordinary; our
task will be to meet the demands of the mundane.
On a personal
note, the events that came upon us so suddenly found me in England.
This is a sabbatical semester for us, and I was driving through
the medieval lanes of Cambridge University when I heard the first
BBC bulletin. I was so stunned I quite literally ran right through
an intersection.
Sherri and
I watched through European eyes as the first few days unfolded.
The coverage was complete, and we did not lack for information,
but we were sobered to hear latent anti-American feelings surface
as the week progressed. Officially the NATO countries are standing
with us, especially Britain, and the vast majorities of their
populations seemed to support this official stance. But there
are also vocal groups within those nations who believe the United
States has gotten what it deserves, and they were not shy about
saying so. In the midst of our grief, this crowing was painful
to hear. Eventually, Sherri and I were able to catch one of the
first flights allowed across the Atlantic.
Meanwhile,
the students, faculty, and administration of the College had risen
wonderfully to the occasion; or perhaps more accurately, the occasion
had driven them to their knees. Through tears of grief the campus
came together in innumerable gatherings, large and small, scheduled
and impromptu, to wrestle with what was happening and to pray
for those in need. Provost Stan Jones, who is covering for me
while I’m gone, and Chaplain Steve Kellough both gave splendid
leadership. They were complemented by our faculty and staff who
used occasion after occasion to help students process what they
were experiencing. These efforts continue and will no doubt do
so for a long time to come.
As you may
know, the Wheaton College community took several direct hits in
this tragedy. As of this writing, we know we lost three of our
own to the terrorist attack: Todd Beamer ’91, Jeff Mladenik M.A.
’95, and Barbara Keating, the grandmother of student Jacob Anderson
’02. A fourth, Jason Oswald ’95, is among those presumed lost
in the World Trade Center. Please pray for the families and friends
of these victims and offer them whatever support you are able.
Their days and months ahead will not be easy. Please remember
the College in your prayers as well. We will continue to use our
Web site (www.wheaton.edu) to make updated information available.
If Wheaton
was wounded in this unprecedented attack, and it was, there have
also emerged opportunities for gratitude. As I watched President
Bush’s solemn address to the nation I could not help but observe
that seated behind him was Speaker of the House Dennis Hastert
’64; that the words we were hearing were first crafted by the
president’s head speechwriter, Michael Gerson ’86; that the stalwart
young widow the president turned to in the balcony was the same
Lisa Brosious Beamer ’91 who had let her light shine so winsomely
on national television all week; that the hero of United Airlines
Flight 93 the president singled out was Todd Beamer ’91, the 32-year-old
father and husband who, after fortifying himself with the timeless
words of the Lord’s Prayer, was heard to say, simply, “Are you
guys ready? Let’s roll.” With that, in our nation’s first reply
to the terrorists, Todd and at least three others stepped up to
be counted.
Four Wheaton
grads in one frame: two who have been called to work in the glare
of national and international attention; two who were thrust reluctantly
and painfully into the spotlight. But each in his or her own way
an example of what Wheaton College is about. We claim as our mission
the development of whole and effective Christians who will impact
church and society worldwide “for Christ and His Kingdom.” Here
are four who have done just that.
“For Christ and His Kingdom.” In these dark days we have been
taking comfort from the fundamental truths embedded in this age-old
motto. Here are several of those truths:
First, God
rules. Despite the sinfulness of the race, God is building the
kingdom of His Son, and none of these cataclysmic events took
Him by surprise. As the psalmist reminds us, “God reigns over
the nations; God sits on his holy throne” (Ps. 47:8). We do not
presume to explain this atrocity; we are as staggered by its malevolence
and magnitude as any. Nor does our confidence in the sovereignty
of God mean we think He is somehow the author of this evil. “God
cannot be tempted by evil,” says James, “and he himself does not
tempt anyone” (1:13). These were the demonic deeds of evil men.
But we at Wheaton College remain utterly confident that our heavenly
Father is larger than these momentous events, and that He is able
to weave even these evil things into something that will further
His purposes (Rom. 8:28).
Second, God
is the judge of the earth. Those who perpetrated these atrocities
will not escape His kingly judgment. “Then I saw a great white
throne and him who sat on it, from whose face the earth and the
heaven fled away; and there was found no place for them” (Rev.
20:11). One day God will bring the purest justice to bear on these
events, a judgment none will escape. It will be holy and righteous
justice, anchored in His omniscience: “Before him no creature
is hidden, but all are open and laid bare to the eyes of him with
whom we have to do” (Heb. 4:13). Nothing can be sheltered from
His sight, no fact, no motive, no mitigating circumstance.
The judgment of God is a neglected note in much of Christendom
these days, but we ignore it to the world’s peril. The writer
to the Hebrews reminds us that God has said, “Vengeance is mine,
I will repay”—then the writer somberly adds, “It is a fearful
thing to fall into the hands of the living God” (Heb. 10:30).
In the end God will execute perfect justice, and for many it will
be a terrifying prospect.
But, third,
we should also note this: If we affirm that God’s omniscience
and righteousness make Him the Perfect Judge, with that same breath
we must also acknowledge the converse—that it is precisely our
human limitations and sinfulness that make us such imperfect and
unrighteous judges. Jesus did not shy away from the awesomeness
of God’s judgment; it was He who warned so ominously that it is
not those who kill the body we should fear, but the one who is
able “to destroy both soul and body” (Matt. 10:28). But that kind
of judgment is God’s business, not ours. As for us, Jesus instructs
us to love our enemies, and then models it by praying for His
own murderers (Luke 23:34). It is in His footsteps we are to follow,
who “being reviled, did not revile in return; while suffering,
he uttered no threats, but instead kept entrusting himself to
the One who judges righteously” (1 Pet. 2:23). No reviling, no
gloating, no vengefulness, no triumphalism; only a prayer for
the welfare of His enemies, combined with a quiet, humble determination
to look to the Perfect Judge for vindication.
As Christians,
our counsel to our leaders right now must be to keep any national
response to terrorism as careful, measured, and just as we can
make it. Beyond that, I, at least, have no great wisdom
to offer; only my prayers for God’s strength and direction in
the dreadful decisions that lie ahead. But this much I do know:
For us as individuals, Jesus has set our pattern. Whatever must
be done, must be done, but let it be done in humility. No reviling,
no gloating, no vengefulness, no chest-thumping triumphalism.
If the thought of our enemies being punished engenders anything
within us, let it be Christlike tears and a broken heart over
the sinfulness of our world, and of ourselves.
Fourth, the
notion of God as Ruler and Judge should send us to our knees in
gratitude for the gospel; that is, for the good news that in Christ
we have found peace with God. The gospel is the story of our salvation—saved
by God, for God, from God. “For if while we were still enemies
we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more,
now that we are reconciled, shall we be saved by his life. Not
only so, but we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ,
through whom we have now received our reconciliation” (Rom. 5:10-11).
If the writer to the Hebrews warns that it is a fearful thing
to fall into the hands of the living God, it is the same writer
who cries, “Let us therefore come boldly to the Throne of Grace,
that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need”
(Heb. 4:16). Through Christ, the Throne of Judgment has become
a Throne of Grace, and we can with confidence approach that throne,
knowing that we are welcome there because we stand “accepted in
the Beloved One” (Eph. 1:6). Let us rejoice in that standing,
and then redouble our efforts to share this best of all good news
with others, even our enemies.
Finally, we
can perhaps find respite from some of our sadness by remembering
what is to come. In the midst of our present turmoil and upheaval,
we can take heart that God’s kingship promises a time of peace
and a place of healing: “And he showed me a pure river of water
of life, clear as crystal, proceeding from the throne of God and
of the Lamb. In the middle of its street, and on either side of
the river, was the tree of life. . . . The leaves of the
tree were for the healing of the nations. And there shall be no
more curse, but the throne of God and of the Lamb shall be in
it, and His servants shall worship Him” (Rev. 22:1-3).
One day there
will come peace and healing. But for now, we serve in a world
wracked with pain and conflict. As followers of Christ let us
work hard to be numbered among the peacemakers Jesus blessed.
Let us stand as guardians over the blameless.
Let us pray faith-fully for our broken world and for our own wounded
nation; for the guilty who consider themselves our enemy, and
for the innocent who have already suffered, and who will suffer
yet, from the ripple effects of these tragic events. Let us keep
before the Lord those who lead us, those who may be stepping into
harm’s way in these days to come, and those who will watch their
loved ones go.
And let us
pray for one another, the members of the Wheaton College family
around the globe, looking to God for strength and comfort and
fresh opportunities to minister His grace in the wake of this
harrowing tragedy.
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A Psalm On
the Death of an 18-Year-Old Son
What waste
Lord
this ointment precious
here outpoured
is treasure great
beyond my mind to think.
For years
until this midnight
it was safe
contained
awaiting careful use
now broken
wasted
lost.
The world is poor
so poor it needs each drop
of such a store.
This treasure spent
might feed a multitude
for all their days
and then yield more.
This world is poor?
It’s poorer now
the treasure’s lost.
I breathe its lingering fragrance
soon even that
will cease.
What purpose served?
The act is void of reason
sense
Lord
madmen do such deeds
not sane.
The sane man hoards his treasure
spends with care
if good
to feed the poor
or else to feed himself.
Let me alone Lord
You’ve taken from me
what I’d give Your world.
I cannot see such waste
that You should take
what poor men need.
You have a heaven
full of treasure
could You not wait
to exercise Your claim
on this?
O spare me Lord forgive
that I may see
beyond this world
beyond myself
Your sovereign plan
or seeing not
may trust You
Spoiler of my treasure.
Have mercy Lord
here is my quitclaim.
—Joseph Bayly ’41
Reprinted with permission of
Mary Lou De Walt Bayly ’42
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The Dangers
of Weakness
In his book
6 Nightmares: Real Threats in a Dangerous World and How America
Can Meet Them (Little Brown & Co., 2000), Anthony Lake examines
security dilemmas around the world in the 21st century.
One chapter in particular served as the basis of the Tiffany Memorial
Lecture, which he delivered October 11 at Wheaton College. Lake,
the national security adviser for four years during the Clinton
administration and now a professor at Georgetown University, chose
his topic, “The Dangers of Weakness: Theirs and Ours,” in part
to “sound the alarms to the threat of terrorism.”
He was booked for the event, and announced his title, before the
September 11 attack on New York City and Washington, D.C. “I was
doing my best to scare people,” he said. “But now, tragically,
it’s not necessary.”
Lake warned his listeners of terrorists who possess weapons of
mass destruction but have no real agenda except to lash out at
Western lifestyles and values. He suggested that Americans need
to be patient with the war against terrorism, because it will
take time. We need to be alert, he said, but we shouldn’t live
in fear.
“If any of us act out of fear, even a little, then they’ve won,”
he said. “It’s important not to let bin Laden have that victory
over us."
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Terrorism,
Justice & Loving Our Enemies
by John Piper ’68
September
12, 2001—Someone asked me after our Tuesday prayer service in
response to the terrorist attack, “Can we pray for justice, and
yet love our enemy at the same time?” The answer is yes.
 But
let’s start with our own guilt. Christians know that if God dealt
with us only according to justice, we would perish under His condemnation.
We are guilty of treason against God in our sinful pride and rebellion.
We deserve only judgment. Justice alone would condemn us to everlasting
torment.
But God does not deal with us only in terms of justice. Without
compromising His justice He “justifies the ungodly” (Rom. 4:5).
That sounds unjust. And it would be if it were not for what God
did in the life and death of Jesus Christ. The mercy of God moved
Him to send the Son of God to bear the wrath of God so as to vindicate
the justice of God when He justifies sinners who have faith in
Jesus. So we have our very life because of mercy and justice (Rom.
3:25-26). They met in the cross.
So we are not quick to demand justice unmingled with mercy. Jesus
demands, “Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you,
so that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven; for He
causes His sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain
on the righteous and the unrighteous” (Matt. 5:44-45). And, of
course, Jesus modeled this for us as a perfect man. “While we
were enemies we were reconciled to God through the death of His
Son” (Rom. 5:10). And even as He died for His enemies He prayed,
“Father, forgive them; for they do not know what they are doing”
(Luke 23:34).
So the resounding command of the apostles is, “Bless those who
persecute you; bless and do not curse. . . . Never pay back evil
for evil to anyone. . . . Never take your own revenge, beloved,
but leave room for the wrath of God, for it is written, ‘Vengeance
is mine, I will repay,’ says the Lord. ‘But if your enemy is hungry,
feed him, and if he is thirsty, give him a drink’ ” (Rom. 12:14-20).
When we live this way, we magnify the glory of God’s mercy and
the all-satisfying Treasure that He is to our souls. We show that
because of His supreme value to us, we do not need the feeling
of personal vengeance in order to be content.
But it does not compromise this truth to say that God should also
be glorified as the one who governs the world and delegates some
of His authority to civil states. Therefore some of God’s divine
rights as God are given to governments for the purposes of restraining
evil and maintaining social order under just laws. This is what
Paul means when he writes, “There is no authority except from
God, and those which exist are established by God. . . . [This
authority is] a minister of God to you for good . . . it does
not bear the sword for nothing; for it is a minister of God, an
avenger who brings wrath on the one who practices evil” (Rom.
13:1-4).
God wills that human justice hold sway among governments, and
between citizens and civil authority. He does not prescribe that
governments always turn the other cheek. The government “does
not bear the sword for nothing.” Police have the God-given right
to use force to restrain evil and bring law-breakers to justice.
And legitimate states have the God-given right to restrain life-threatening
aggression and bring criminals to justice. If these truths are
known, this God-ordained exercise of divine prerogative would
glorify the justice of God who mercifully ordains that the flood
of sin and misery be restrained in the earth.
Therefore, we will magnify the mercy of God by praying for our
enemies to be saved and reconciled to God. At the personal level
we will be willing to suffer for their everlasting good, and we
will give them food and drink. We will put away malicious hatred
and private vengeance. But at the public level we will also magnify
the justice of God by praying and working for justice to be done
on the earth, if necessary through wise and measured force from
God-ordained authority.
Reprinted with permission of Desiring God Ministries, 888-346-4700,
www.desiringgod.org.
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Letter
from The White House
The
White House
Washington
October 5,
2001
As you gather—members
of a class and a community—our Nation stands with you in grief
and gratitude. We feel grief for the loss of a husband, father,
and friend—a man who was deeply loved by his family, his friends,
and by God. We feel gratitude for Todd Beamer’s example of courage
and his wife Lisa’s example of grace.
On September 11, America saw terrible evil. We also saw how a
man can face evil: soberly, directly, without flinching. Our entire
Nation now knows what bravery looks like. And we will not forget.
Wheaton College stands for things that endure: for faith and integrity,
and for service to others. Those very values found expression
in the life and sacrifice of Todd Beamer. Today, we thank God
for a good man. We pray for his family and friends in a time of
sorrow. And we affirm the faith in which Todd shared, knowing
that nothing, not even death, can separate us from God’s love.
George Bush
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Looking to
the God of Peace
Chaplain Stephen B. Kellough
Since September
11 there has been a lot on my mind, and there has been a heaviness
on my shoulders that is associated with the privilege and responsibility
of serving as Wheaton’s chaplain in these days.
For this generation of students, the charged atmosphere brought
about by catastrophic world events is unprecedented. Columbine
comes closest, and maybe Oklahoma City. But Vietnam and even the
Gulf War are off the radar screen for most students. Korea and
Pearl Harbor are ancient history. For that matter, even those
of us on the faculty and staff at the College have never faced
the kind of assault on American turf that we have witnessed.
 During
these difficult moments, we are finding that the resources of
our Christian faith and the value of living in Christian community
are becoming near and dear. Wheaton College is a good place to
be right now, even for students who are many hours from home.
Shortly after the hijacked planes hit the World Trade Center and
the Pentagon, a special chapel service was called for the College
community. Within hours of the attacks, students, faculty, and
staff were assembled in Edman Chapel reading Scripture and praying
to our heavenly Father. We were together in worship when we needed
to hear from God and to speak to God.
Classes were not dismissed on September 11, and that was a good
decision. But we followed the news reports on televisions around
campus, and phone calls were made to family and friends. Caring
faculty assisted students in processing the events that were shaking
our world, and don’t think that students didn’t minister to professors
as well. We were together in community, trying to understand,
assisting each other in struggling to focus the lens of our Christian
worldview on the events of the day.
As most Wheaton alumni remember, it is our tradition to designate
a passage of Scripture as a “year verse.” The verse for the 2001-02
academic year is Hebrews 13:20-21, the words of a blessing, a
benediction that reminds us of our position in Christ and our
resources in God: “May the God of peace, who through the blood
of the eternal covenant brought back from the dead our Lord Jesus,
that great Shepherd of the sheep, equip you with everything good
for doing his will, and may he work in
us what is pleasing to him, through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory
for ever and ever. Amen.”
Little did we realize months ago when this text was chosen that
we would be in such need of this reminder of our resources in
the God of peace. The letter to the Hebrews was written to people
of faith whose faith was being tested. They needed to be reminded
of what they knew but what they were struggling to hold on to.
The letter to the Hebrews is more than a letter; it is a sermon.
It’s an encouragement, and it’s a reminder. In my role as chaplain,
that is my goal—to encourage and to remind. In these days it is
my duty and delight to point our community to the God of peace.
This is a title for our Lord that we need to savor right now.
In the midst of very uncertain times, it is important for us to
understand with our minds and to embrace with our hearts the God
of peace and the peace that God gives.
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Obituaries
Todd Beamer '91 - Calm Amid the Crisis
 They
woke up that Tuesday morning as fathers, sons, husbands, businessmen.
Within a week, the world knew them as heroes.
A nation that
was looking for a reason to hope--any reason--found it in the
days following the September 11 attacks. A story emerged, piece
by piece, of heroism aboard United Airlines Flight 93, the only
hijacked airliner that failed to strike a target.
Todd Beamer
'91 of Cranbury, New Jersey, and at least three other passengers
apparently overpowered three terrorists who had the Boeing 757
on a path to Washington, D.C. The plane crashed in rural Pennsylvania,
killing all 44 people aboard.
Todd, an account
manager for Oracle Corp., was 32 years old. He is survived by
his wife, Lisa (Brosious '91), who is expecting the couple's third
child; two sons, David and Andrew; his parents; and two sisters.
In a 15-minute
conversation with a GTE-Airfone operator, Todd calmly described
the situation. The passengers were aware that hijacked planes
had crashed into the World Trade Center in New York and the Pentagon
in Washington, and Todd said some of them would attempt to regain
control of the plane. The last thing the operator heard before
she lost the connection was Todd saying, "Are you guys ready?
Let's roll."
When she heard
about the call, Lisa immediately recognized her husband's "Let's
roll" command. "When I heard that part of the conversation,"
she says, "I knew that was Todd."
Members of
the Beamers' small group at Princeton Alliance Church immediately
surrounded the family, activating the prayer chain, handling media
inquiries, arranging meals, and staying overnight with Lisa.
"The
Care Circle was everything a church should be," writes Warren
Bird '78, M.A. '79, a pastor of the church. "They were a
tight group, so when a crisis occurred, the care system and relationships
were already in place."
The group
has been a source of strength as Lisa has told Todd's story on
television programs such as "Good Morning America,"
"Oprah," and "Larry King Live."
In an interview,
King asked Lisa whether she was surprised by Todd's prayer with
the Airfone operator. Lisa responded: "Not at all. Todd was
a man of faith. He knew this life was . . . just here to prepare
him for eternity in heaven with God and with Jesus. And Todd made
sure every day that he did his best. He wasn't perfect, and neither
am I. But he did his best to make sure that he was living a life
that was pleasing to God and that would help him know God better,
and he acted on that all the way to the end, and I'm so proud."
Warren adds:
"When Todd called the operator from the airplane he said,
'Let's pray.' At the end of the call she heard him say, 'Let's
roll.' Those two phrases--calling on God and then stepping forward
in faith--represent what Todd was all about in his small group,
as a youth sponsor, as a husband, and as a Christian in the marketplace."
by Michael
Murray
Jeffrey
Mladenik M.A. '95 - Faith at Work
 Jeffrey
Mladenik's professional career was a snapshot of the nature of
business in our time. It portrayed a scene of multiple job changes,
corporate buyouts, cross-country travel, and the emergence of
new technology.
But Jeff's
career was marked mostly by a characteristic not often seen in
the marketplace--a seamless blend of faith and work. As a corporate
executive, his goal was to reflect Christ in every area of his
business ventures. As a part-time associate pastor, his goal was
to equip the members of his church to be ministers in their own
workplaces.
Jeff, the
interim CEO of a Web site development firm and the pastor of workplace
ministry at Christ Church of Oak Brook (Illinois), was one of
92 people aboard American Airlines Flight 11 from Boston to Los
Angeles, which was hijacked and crashed into the north tower of
the World Trade Center in New York City on September 11. He was
43 years old.
Jeff is survived
by his wife of 22 years, Sue, of Hinsdale, Illinois; four children,
Kelly, Joshua, Daniel, and Grace; his parents; and two brothers.
"For
so many, people are Christians on Sunday, but when the work week
starts all bets are off," says Bill Cirignani, an attorney
from Chicago and a member of a class Jeff taught on faith in the
workplace. "But for Jeff, the goal was to make 24-hour Christians.
He felt the Bible had applications for any time and any era."
Jeff earned
an associate degree from Morton College in 1979 and a bachelor's
degree in 1987 from what is now Trinity International University,
in Deerfield, Illinois. In 1992, he completed a master of business
administration degree at North Central College in Naperville,
Illinois, and three years later earned a master of arts degree
in biblical and theological studies from Wheaton College.
Throughout
his time in graduate school, Jeff was establishing himself in
the business world. From 1988 to 1996 he held a number of management
positions in strategic planning and product marketing at Toshiba
America Electronic Components. He then moved to Tripp Lite Manufacturing,
where he served as vice president of marketing and sales, focusing
on telecommunications and electronics.
In 1998, he
joined Cahners, a business media company. When Cahners acquired
eLogic, Jeff was named its interim CEO, a position he held while
continuing his responsibilities as vice president of e-development
for the Cahners manufacturing and electronics division.
Jeff was ordained in 1999 and soon joined the pastoral staff of
the 5,000-member Christ Church of Oak Brook, which he had previously
served as a lay minister.
"Every
day, Jeff brought more passion and commitment to his faith, his
family, and his work than most of us commit to our lives in general,"
says Jeff Greisch, president of Cahners's manufacturing and electronics
division. "Jeff was truly an exceptional man who I am sure
was a calming influence on that fateful flight. . . . He was unbelievably
dedicated, and he lived life to the fullest. He never left anything
on the table."
by Michael
Murray
Jason Oswald
'95 - An Eternal Outlook
 Every
senior in the Wheaton College business and economics department
must write a paper on what it means to be a success. The words
of Jason Oswald '95 were almost prophetic.
He wrote:
"If we could realize daily the brevity of our lives, our
definitions of success would take on a more eternal scope. . .
. I would hope that I would not be one . . . from whom God would
have to wipe away remorseful tears."
Jason's definition
of success and attitude toward the eternal would sometimes manifest
themselves in surprising ways. His actions led his friends to
coin a nickname: "Sneak Attack."
"He was
such a sleeper," says Jonathan Swindle '95, who lived with
Jason for two years. "He'd do things all the time that would
completely surprise you. He was this soft-spoken accountant, but
then he'd go and do something like quit his job and just move
to New York because he'd fallen in love."
Jason lived
in Chicago and worked for Pricewaterhouse Coopers until June of
this year, when he announced he was moving to New York City. The
draw? A deepening relationship with Nancy Prentis, whom he met
last December. "It was so romantic and spontaneous,"
Jonathan says, "exactly the kind of thing we would not expect
from Jason."
Jason, who
held a master's degree in accounting from the University of Texas,
joined Cantor Fitzgerald, a financial-services firm with offices
in the north tower of the World Trade Center. Jason worked on
the 101st floor of the building and had been on the job less than
two months on September 11, when American Airlines Flight 11 was
hijacked and crashed into the tower between the 96th and 103rd
floors. Jason was 28 years old. He is survived by his parents,
Ken and Jane Oswald of Merrill, Wisconsin, and a sister, Jennifer.
"I know
this isn't going to be easy . . . to deal with all of this,"
Jane Oswald says. "My choice is to be bitter and angry or
to go on to make the world a better place. I know what Jason would
tell me."
More than
300 friends, former classmates, and professors attended a memorial
service for Jason in Wheaton's Pierce Chapel on September 22.
Through prayers and hymns, tributes and tears, they comforted
each other and remembered a loyal friend who possessed a great
sense of humor and a love of learning. "He had a calm, deep
sense of self and knew who he was, where he was, and had a strong
sense of purpose," Jonathan says.
"I will
always be happy that Jason got to live the life he really wanted,"
he adds. "He had a million friends and was surrounded by
people who loved him, and whom he loved. I really find a lot of
comfort in that and in knowing that though our group is sad for
Jason, we're confident he is in the hands of God and he is doing
God's will-and will continue to do that through our lives."
by Michael
Murray
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A Word with Alumni - From Billy Graham
The September 11 terrorist attack
was meant to be a victory for America's enemies, but God has brought
grace from the ashes. Our national tragedy has put people on a
spiritual quest for life's purpose and meaning. Church attendance
is up, and thousands of individuals are making new or renewed
commitments to Christ.
 September
11 is more than a one-time event that shocked people into facing
their own mortality. Our military response will raise more questions
about why we are fighting and the way in which we fight. Ongoing
threats and the fear of the unknown will continue to draw hearts
to God for answers and assurance as the terrorists try to turn
our freedoms against us.
Like our spiritual enemy, our worldly enemies
are not easily defeated. Their surprise attacks and unorthodox
tactics keep us all on high alert, daily vigilant to physically
protect our families and ourselves. These times also prompt us
to live more deliberately as Christians-ever mindful of the enemy's
presence and our Lord's imminent return.
The church has an unprecedented opportunity
to communicate to a world that is lost and confused that God loves
them-even if they have gone astray-and to remind them that there
is still a reason for hope and a place for safety.
While life in the United States continues to
change, let us remember that God does not change. He is still
our hope and peace, our refuge in time of trouble. We can use
what I expect will be a prolonged period of war and uncertainty
to place our entire trust in Him. Let us pray that God will pour
out His Spirit for revival in our nation and give our leaders
wisdom in the challenging days ahead.
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China: The
Other Side of the World
More than
50 Wheaton students traveled overseas in the summer of 2001 as
part of the Student Missionary Project. One student who taught
English in China tells her story.
The first
night we spent in Shijiazhuang is etched in my memory. I will
never forget our hike around the neighborhood that would soon
be our home.
China, as I experienced it in the sidewalks and storefronts and
saw it in the adults and children, was breathtakingly beautiful.
The streets were lined with bright red signs and ice cream carts
and some of the most beautiful faces I have ever seen. What a
rich masterpiece of language, tradition, architecture, customs,
and people the Lord has painted there.
I walked on the other side of the world along dirty streets, lined
with innumerable shops and full of people. Small restaurants spilled
onto the sidewalks, their tables covered with the most delicious
looking food; I didn’t even have a category for all the new smells.
There were hundreds of people, yet they didn’t seem to be making
nearly as much noise as the eight of us. The only noise I heard
was people practicing their single English word: hello. This was
usually accompanied by a large grin and unashamed staring. I remember
a little girl on her mother’s lap pointing at us with her fully
outstretched arm and tapping her mom with the other. Eight ordinary
people could not have been more out of the ordinary.
 I
learned more during those six weeks than my journal pages could
hold, and I learned faster than I was able to write. It was rarely
easy—but never impossible. The adventure began June 30 when about
300 college students from North America were gathered by the English
Language Institute/China for a short-term teaching program called
Camp China. We assembled for a week of training at Azusa Pacific
University before we divided into teams.
I was on a team of eight people: seven teachers and a team leader.
Our destination was a middle school in Shijiazhuang in the Hebei
province of China, a city of 8 million with few foreigners and
only one McDonald’s.
Each team member had a class of 10 to 14 students ranging in age
from 9 to 19. Mine were between 14 and 16 years old, each entering
the second phase of secondary education. They had recently passed
the first in a series of challenging tests that all Chinese students
are required to pass in order to continue their education. Their
commitment to their studies amazed me. And even though they were
constantly studying, they still made a point of welcoming us.
I have never been greeted with such hospitality and warmth.
We met with our students in the mornings for three hours of non-conventional
English lessons. Sitting in desks was highly discouraged. Instead,
we kept the students on their feet: They played games, acted out
stories, sang songs. We spent the afternoons and evenings sharing
our culture in a variety of ways. There were nights that we “celebrated”
holidays such as Thanksgiving and Easter, and a week that we spent
learning about Christmas. At the end of the week each class performed
a portion of the Christmas tradition. One class, robed like angels,
sang “Silent Night.” How beautiful it was to hear them sing about
such a glorious night. They didn’t fully understand its meaning,
but they helped me to see it more clearly.
At the end of the evening, there was always a little time for
questions. My class developed a ritual of congregating on the
concrete block behind the school. We each took our spot on the
steps and then the students would begin to ask questions. There
were questions about cars and houses, about my family and especially
about my little sister Anna, whom they thought was simply beautiful.
Some questions were harder to answer than these. They asked questions
about how Americans viewed China and why there are poor people
in a country in which so many people have cars. How do you answer
these? How could I look straight into the face of a child who
may never drive a car and say that I have my own? The longer we
sat on our steps, the closer their faces drew toward mine, and
the more intrigued they became. One boy always asked the politically
sensitive questions, and another rarely took his eyes off the
stars. His questions probed at my character: What would I do with
a million, no, 10 million dollars? If I met a poor person on the
street, would I have mercy on him? Do all people who believe in
Jesus Christ love other people? I cherish those nights on the
steps; what a gift it was to share in their excitement and be
able to share my heart with them.
God is truly at work in China. This truth was magnified for us
the two Sundays we were able to visit the local church, a community
full of glorious faces that greeted our team with giant smiles.
We were welcomed with such warmth and joy. My eyes were swimming
as I tried desperately to hold back the tears. We were ushered
to the front and seated in the first pew, next to and in front
of our brothers and sisters, gathered together to bow at His feet.
What a privilege it was to worship with them this side of eternity.
I saw a little more of God this summer, as He has revealed Himself
in His amazing creation of the culture and people of China. I
saw more of His beauty in the faces of my students and the significance
of His presence in my life, and I experienced firsthand His power
and saw more of His love for the nations.
by Elizabeth
Dickson ’01
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In
the Grip of Medical Missions
by Evvy Hay Campbell
Associate Professor of Missions and Intercultural Studies
After a salvation
experience at age 10, I wrote in my diary that I wanted to be
“a missionary, a nurse, and never a teacher,” three professions
that, by God’s grace, have become the pillars of my vocation.
As a Wheaton College professor, I am always drawn to investigate
medical missions, the field that has had a lifelong grip on my
soul and service. Two areas of medical missions are of compelling
interest to me: first, the substance and direction of that field;
second, the people who have spent their lives in service to Christ
in that sphere.
 As
a new missionary to Sierra Leone in the mid-1970s, I was endlessly
fascinated by the patients who came to our busy clinic with tropical
diseases: Burkitt’s lymphoma, cancrum oris, onchocerciasis, schistosomiasis,
creeping eruption, and dozens of other maladies. Ill equipped
to care for the hundreds of patients suffering from malaria, malnutrition,
and diarrhea with dehydration, I went to the Liverpool School
of Tropical Medicine before returning a second time to Sierra
Leone. Professors there pointed me in the direction of immunizations,
improved sanitation, clean water supplies, and adequate nutrition
as steps to promote community health.
Back in Sierra Leone, I was often a truck driver for the hospital’s
dry-season evangelism outreach. I’d sit on a low wooden bench
in a mud-walled church or on a hand-hewn stool under a star-spangled
sky listening to the gospel message in the Limba language. Over
the years some 13 churches had been planted as a result of the
hospital’s outreach efforts, many in the villages of former patients.
One afternoon, clambering with others over the tailgate of a truck,
I was arrested by a comment from a missionary pastor as he gave
us a hand up. He said simply, “We’re here, you know, to build
the church.” It was at that moment I began to grasp the meaning
of holistic ministry and could set aside the need to give a priority
ranking to spiritual or physical outreach. I could see both as
parts of a whole gospel that the church is challenged to live
out in the world.
A number of resources are now available to help those engaged
in physical ministries to articulate their theology of mission
and serve strategically to build the kingdom. MARC, the publishing
arm of World Vision International, has led the way in seminal
books, including a series coordinated by Dr. Tetsunao Yamamori:
Serving with the Poor in Africa, Serving with the Poor in Asia,
and Serving with the Poor in Latin America. The series
consists of case studies of holistic ministry that are written
by grassroots practitioners and then critiqued by sociologists,
anthropologists, missiologists, and theologians.
Recently, Dr. Dave Conner of Food for the Hungry, Dr. Steve Rundle
of Biola University, and I met with Dr. Yamamori in Phoenix to
plan the development of a resource guide on holistic mission.
We carefully discussed issues of content, audience, allocation
of work, and a dissemination strategy. My assigned area was strategies
for carrying out holistic mission in the fields of health and
development. I remember looking at the newsprint sheets containing
our ideas that covered the walls of the hotel conference room
and thinking, “There’s no place in the world I’d rather be, and
there’s nothing in the world I’d rather be doing.”
A second initiative in which I have been engaged has been a consultation
on “A New Rx for Medical Missions” that was held at Wheaton College
on October 18 and 19. Fifty mission leaders met to consider new
approaches in medical missions that emphasize whole-person care
and involvement of the church in carrying out practical innovations.
Project MedSend, a nonprofit Christian organization that provides
grants to medical missionaries with educational debts to hasten
their appointment to the field, cosponsored the event with the
Billy Graham Center and the missions and intercultural studies
department of the Graduate School. A post-consultation publication
will document some of these approaches.
Finally, I had the great privilege this summer of starting a biography
of Dr. Marilyn Birch. Born and raised in Sierra Leone of missionary
parents, she spent her professional career there as a physician
at Kamakwie Hospital. Now 80 years old, she lives in an assisted-living
facility in Jacksonville, Florida. To capture her story, Kamakwie
nurse colleague Eila Shea and I spirited her away for three days
to St. Simons Island in Georgia. It was an honor to lift her frail
frame, bandage her swollen legs, and sit quietly together by the
ocean with its night air brushing our cheeks. We worked hard each
day, with Eila asking the interview questions and me manning the
tape recorder and laptop. Marilyn, a gifted storyteller, carried
us back through the years of her life at that remote mission hospital.
Bundling village midwives into the operating room so they could
see that a C-section was safe. Treating a newborn convulsing with
tetanus, the ninth and only living child of an anxious mother.
Operating on a Loko man who impaled himself on a cut-off sapling
when he fell from a palm tree. A patient’s thank you gift of a
small pan of uncooked rice and two eggs. Always, Marilyn spoke
of the grace of God. A patient she tried to refer elsewhere for
a routine operation because of her own backlog of surgeries said,
“I thank you very much. But I want to go to Kamakwie because there
is a lot of God there.”
With anticipation and yet greatly humbled by the caliber of her
life, I look forward to transcribing the dozen tapes now in my
office and carefully retelling the stories of a gentle missionary
surgeon who lived her life with “a lot of God there.”
And so at Wheaton College, amidst the busy days of teaching, committee
work, and interaction with students, I find in myself a lodestar
that I have come to know as God’s call on my life. I’m in the
grip of medical missions, and there is no place I would rather
be.
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Retiring Faculty
Ivan Fahs
’54, Ph.D.
Professor of Sociology
Professor
Fahs joined the Wheaton faculty in 1981, 27 years after he earned
his bachelor’s degree from the College. He completed graduate
studies at Cornell University.
 “For
20 years, Ivan Fahs brought a zest for learning that he communicated
to his students, many of whom wrote prize-winning papers under
his tutelage,” says Jim Mathisen M.A. ’69, professor of sociology.
“Ivan often spoke to Wheaton alumni groups who always appreciated
his spiritual warmth and candor. He represented the College to
the community with integrity, especially when he led the Mayor’s
Task Force on Homelessness. Most of all, he personifies the fruit
of the Spirit and has been a faithful and caring husband, father,
and grandfather, while serving the Lord at Wheaton with great
distinction.”
Dr. Fahs and his wife, Joyce Evans Fahs ’54, were the recipients
of the Alumni Association’s Distinguished Service to Alma Mater
award in 1999.
Lyman “Bud”
Kellstedt, Ph.D.
Professor of Political Science
“Bud is very
well known outside of Wheaton College for his contributions in
the study of religion and politics,” says Michael Le Roy, chairman
of the politics and international relations department. “He is
one of the leading reasons that the Christian voice is well received
in the discipline of political science today.”
 The
American Political Science Association recently recognized Professor
Kellstedt for his distinguished contributions to the discipline.
His Wheaton colleagues also say they appreciate his sense of humor
and many contributions to the College over the past two decades.
Dr. Kellstedt, an alumnus of Bradley University and the University
of Illinois, is the College’s pre-law adviser this year. Some
former students of his who have gone to law school say Dr. Kellstedt’s
Constitutional Law course is better than any other class they’ve
taken on the subject.
Professor Kellstedt joined Wheaton’s faculty in 1979.
Helmut
Ziefle, Ph.D.
Professor of German
Professor
Ziefle taught at Wheaton for 33 years. He founded the Wheaton
in Germany program, wrote textbooks on theological German, and
published a monograph on Hermann Hesse and Christianity.
 Dr.
Ziefle’s book One Woman Against the Reich, recently republished
in German as Gegen Hitler und das Reich, recounts the challenges
his parents faced in maintaining a Christian home under the Nazi
regime. Clint Shaffer ’84, assistant professor of German and a
former student of Dr. Ziefle’s, says, “This testimony of one family’s
faith under trial, together with Dr. Ziefle’s gentle and encouraging
classroom manner, left their marks on several generations of Wheaton
students.”
Professor Ziefle is a graduate of the University of New York at
Albany and the University of Illinois.
For his service to the profession of German studies, he was awarded
the Certificate of Merit of the American Association of Teachers
of German and the Goethe House in 1992.
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A Sound that
Fills the Room
Students’
cheers mingled with the powerful sound of Wheaton College’s new
$1.2 million, 4,000-pipe organ as Ed Zimmerman, professor of music,
played the first chord in Edman Chapel.
“We wanted an organ that filled the room,” he says. “This one
has power and a tremendous amount of breadth.”
One of the largest of its kind, the instrument took a year to
assemble. Several longtime friends of the College provided seed
money for the project,
and a substantial gift from an anonymous donor made the instrument
a reality.
 The
Canadian company Casavant Freres built the machine to replace
the old organ, which had simply become run down with use. In addition
to the 50 stops, knobs used to control notes, and 70 ranks, rows
of pipes that produce similar sounds, the organ also has a moveable
console. Computers control the sound produced, like an electric
organ, but the machine can also be operated manually.
From a professor’s point of view, the organ is an excellent educational
tool. As the College’s organ teacher, Dr. Zimmerman gives 24 lessons
a week to about 15 to 20 students a semester. The 1960s-era organ
previously in Edman did not provide the flexibility or caliber
of sound that his students needed. The new organ provides the
opportunity for students to learn the basics of the organ mechanically,
enhancing their accuracy.
“It’s important that the instrument is still mechanical because
that’s the best way to learn,” Professor Zimmerman says. “On an
electric organ, you can be the sloppiest player in the world and
get away with it. On a mechanical, the pipes tell the utter truth.”
However, because the College is such a popular center for conferences,
the electric capability is necessary.
Playing on such a fine instrument also encourages study of its
inner apparatus as well as the music it produces, something that
not many organists do today. Dr. Zimmerman, who designed the organ,
knows how important it is to understand how the organ produces
such powerful sounds. He is dedicated to encouraging his students
to learn the organ inside and out.
Now that churchgoers are becoming more and more interested in
using the organ as a part of their worship service, organ graduates
are receiving good jobs, right out of school. The opportunity
to play on a new organ helps to better prepare and give versatility
to these students who are planning on organ performance as a career.
Of course, the organ’s value goes beyond use in the classroom.
To showcase the machine that produces such majestic sounds, Professor
Zimmerman presented an inaugural concert on September 15, performing
a full-length sonata composed for the occasion by Craig Phillips.
On October 6, he also joined the Wheaton College Symphony Orchestra
to perform Jongen’s Concerto for Organ and Saint-Saens’ Organ
Symphony. As part of the College’s Artist Series, another concert
will be performed by The Chenaults, duo organists, on January
26, 2002. For more information, please call 630-752-5010.
by Jackie
Noden Inouye ’00
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