Packers Triumph in Superbowl XLV

Despite my Minnesota origins, I have a strong dislike for the Vikings. My Packer-supporting friends "converted" me to a Packer fan this year. As they saw it, I was already halfway there. I have to admit, it was a good year to support the Pack.

Trinity Packers fans celebrate the victory

The Green Bay Packers fans reigned victorious in the XLV Super Bowl on Feb. 6, winning 31-25 against the Pittsburgh Steelers, leaving Packers fans in a state of euphoria and Steelers fans downcast. 


The game began at 5:30 CT, with Christina Aguilera singing the national anthem, and accidentally singing the line "what so proudly we watched, at the twilight’s last gleaming" twice during the song. Though the Packers were ahead the entire game, the closest the Steelers came was 28-25. This caused many Packers fans feeling nervous for the outcome, as the Steelers have been known to pull ahead near the end of a game.

"I thought the game was going to be close before the game [started]. It looked like the Packers were going to win with ease, but then with those key defensive injuries, the Steelers made it a close game," junior Eric Anderson said. Anderson is from Green Bay and has avidly kept up with the Packers this season. In addition to the victory, many Packers fans alike were pleased to see Aaron Rodgers win the Most Valuable Player award.

Over 40 students watched the game from first floor Trinity Hall at a campus party hosted by Resident Assistant Ethan Carlson and the residents on his floor. The event had the essentials that would make any Super Bowl party a success: a flat screen TV, food, and even classic party games like Baggo Bag Toss.

Other Trinity students were not as interested in the game. Senior Josh Harrison has never watched a Super Bowl in his life, and chose to keep that tradition by leaving a Super Bowl party before the game started.

The Black Eyed Peas performed at the halftime show, with two unexpected appearances from the musical artists Slash and Usher. Judging by the Trinity Hall party goers, the show was a disappointment possibly due to the auto tuning that is usually applied to the recorded music, but was lacking during the live performance.

Viewers that watched the Super Bowl solely for the commercials may have been dissatisfied as well. Many commercials were repeated, specifically commercials about Verizon adopting the iPhone.

Symphonic Band Director Stephen Posegate was surprised at the amount of violence the commercials contained. Anderson said while the commercials displayed an interesting portrait of what is going on in our world, they weren’t particularly entertaining to watch.

Following the game, Packers fans rejoiced around campus tooting blow horns and cheering loudly making it known that the Packers fan population on campus was large and electrified.

A Look at Controversial Literature

This is an article published for the Trinity Digest, on February 4, 2011. Editor Garrett Kling actually came up with the idea after we discussed it in our Literary Theory class. 

As “A Brave New World” graces Trinity’s stage this spring, students attending the play will be confronted with a controversial work of literature that is adapted for the stage. 

Photo from Bethany Kemming

Associate Professor of English and Theatre Director Kristin Lindholm encourages students not to misinterpret “A Brave New World,” as the author Aldous Huxley wanted the audience to reject the message that the characters embrace through their immoral actions and disheartening beliefs, not embrace it.   

According to Lindholm, the theatre department will be partnering with the Center for Bioethics and Human Dignity to host an event before “A Brave New World” to discuss the play and its message.  

Misinterpreting controversial literature is not distant from the Christian community. Every few years a book or movie comes out that many Christians find highly controversial.  The Golden Compass, The Harry Potter series, The Da Vinci Code, and many others have all sparked conversation and differing interpretations.   

Books such as “What’s a Christian to Do With Harry Potter?” and articles like “The Good in the Golden Compass” from RelevantMagazine, frequently pop up among the Christian market, implying that Christians shouldn’t ignore books like these, but rather read and interpret them.  

It can be difficult for Christians to determine where theline should be drawn about what is worthy of study and what to avoid. According to Lindholm, many Christians initially rejected the Harry Potter series, but eventually “talked their way around” the series, and it is popular among many Christians today. Many see Harry Potter as a Christ figure, while others ban their children from reading the book based on its inclusion of wizardry and witchcraft in a positive light. 

Students that have taken American Literature II at Trinity have encountered a “classic” but controversial title, “The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn.”  The novel has been controversial among many literary communities, not just the Christian community, because of the racism in the novel and use of derogatory terms. Senior Hannah Held said she found class discussion helpful in interpreting the novel.  

“I was able to look at the book in light of what it could reveal about racism, rather than simply condemning the book as part of the problem of racism,” Held said.  

According to Lindholm, Trinity does not have an official policy on what literature can be chosen as part of class curriculum.  The plays and musicals, however, do have to go through a review process.  

Held said it can be beneficial to discuss a controversial work respectfully and maturely as part of coursework for a class discussion.   

“The context is of utmost importance in a situation like that,” Held said.   

Held also believes that Christians should know the boundaries of their beliefs and make decisions with the aid of research, prayer, and an individual that will hold them accountable and make sure they do not read “unconsciously,” without thinking about the issues. 

Lindholm said the arena of controversial literature is an opportunity for Christians to follow Paul’s admonition in Romans 14 to not be a stumbling block for others and seek that which is edifying.  Christians need to be wise and careful about their judgments.  

“There are standards.  Not everything is worth reading,” Lindholm said.

Lindholm maintains personal standards for deciding what’s appropriate to read and study.  Evil must be shown to be evil, and not glorified. Lindholm also believes that if a Christian is seeing negative effects in their life because of a book, they should stop reading.   

Senior Amanda Krup works with junior high students, and said she finds it helpful to read some of what they are reading to help them find the good elements in the literature, as well as point out the unhealthy aspects.   

Krup said readers should keep the genre of what they are reading in mind, and find the good or entertainment in what they choose to read. 

“The [controversial books] that I have read are just like anything else in life and need to be looked at with a godly world view,” Krup said. 

Dallas Willard: Living Out the Kingdom

I wrote this article for the Trinity Digest, and it was published on October 29th, 2010.

Dallas Willard: Living out the Kingdom

University of Southern California Philosophy Professor Dallas Willard encouraged the Trinity International University community to seek the Kingdom of God through his chapel message and Scripture and Ministry Lecture on Wednesday, Oct. 27.

Willard focused his chapel message on Matthew 6:33 “But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.”

In both his chapel message and scriptural lecture, Willard defined the Kingdom of God as “where what God wants done is done,” and “the range of God’s effective will.”

The two main places Willard said believers will see the kingdom is in Jesus, the primary manifestation of the Kingdom of God, His people, and in nature.

“It’s not a job to seek the Kingdom of God, but the greatest opportunity in human life,” Willard said.  

Willard reminded students that though believers are assured that if they seek the Kingdom of God they will find it, it is not as easy as one may think. Using the example of Nicodemus, Willard reminded the Trinity community that being able to see the kingdom is a gift of God, an experience that turns those seeking the kingdom from professors into students. 

Willard said Christians seek the Kingdom of God by learning to act in the name of Jesus and the power of God, acting on His behalf and with His resources.

“If it sounds dreary, that’s how badly we’ve missed the point. There is joy in seeking the kingdom,” Willard said.

Along with seeking the Kingdom of God through our actions, Willard encouraged students to seek the kingdom at the workplace by looking at work as a service to God and to others. Willard told students that work is essentially a process of creating value, and encouraged them to look at the implicit value in their jobs.  

To both students at chapel and those attending the lecture, Willard stressed the importance of realizing that Jesus Christ alone gives believers the capacity to change and seek the Kingdom of God instead of their own kingdom, or “queendom.” Willard said that kingdoms work by names, meaning that praying in the name of Jesus means praying on Christ’s behalf, from and within His resources.

“We don’t have to bear the burden of making change happen,” Willard reminded students. 

At the Carl F. H. Henry Center for Theological Understanding Scripture and Ministry Lecture, Willard focused on Romans 12:1-2 and the importance of renewing the mind. Willard said that the renewed mind conforms to the realities of the Kingdom of God, while the old mind conforms to the world.

“Spiritual transformation is the process of moving from conforming to the world to conforming to the Kingdom of God,” Willard said. 

Before going into philosophy, Willard was a Southern Baptist preacher. Willard said he realized his counsel towards converts was not helping them to change, but that philosophical ideas he had thought were merely “discarded thought”, could help people change if they were rightly used. Along with being a Philosophy professor, Willard is also a well-known speaker, and author of Renovation of the Heart, The Divine Conspiracy, and many more titles.

AmeriCorps Program is at Anoka-Ramsey

I wrote this article for ABC Newspapers, located in Anoka County, Minnesota. It was published on September 2, 2010. 

Anoka Ramsey Community College (ARCC) students will have the opportunity to participate in a new AmeriCorps program available this fall.  

ARCC is receiving 20 AmeriCorps volunteers to serve on campus and $275,000 to go toward volunteer stipends and health insurance.  

The AmeriCorps volunteers will be focused in the developmental education areas at ARCC and will have three main roles while they are there, according to Jaimie Lopez, director of Minnesota College Success Corps.

They will provide Supplemental Instruction (SI), individual tutoring and mentorship.  

Each student entering ARCC to pursue a degree is required to take the Accuplacer, a placement test that determines which reading, writing and math classes the students will be placed in.  

If they score too low in one area, students are required to take developmental course work classes in that subject before being able to take the college level courses of that subject.  

While providing SI, volunteers will work with the instructors of developmental education classes during class time and lead SI groups after class.  

These groups will be similar to facilitated study groups, as SI leaders will assist the students in fully understanding class material.

As mentors, volunteers will assist in providing students with tools and tips for academic time management.  

“They’ve been successful college students, so they know how to help college students be successful,” Lopez said.

The official program start date was Aug. 9.  

AmeriCorps is continuing to recruit new mentors and tutors. They have seven of 20 members needed.  

The volunteers were in place to fulfill their duties when classes started Aug. 23.  

According to Lopez, ARCC saw an increasing number of students that were unprepared to take college level course work and wrote a grant to receive funding for the AmeriCorps program.  

In early June, the college received notice that AmeriCorps had accepted its grant.  

“I hope the students see the benefit,” Lopez said.  

“Statistically, students who participate in SI receive fewer D’s and F’s than those who do not…we’re hoping they’ll make connections to resources like this on campus.”

According to Lopez, ARCC is receiving this AmeriCorps grant for only one year, but it can choose to reapply at the end of the year.  

The college may have the program for up to three years if it is accepted each time it applies.  

The program carries out the vision of the Edward M. Kennedy Serve America Act signed in 2009.  

According to a press release from ServeMinnesota’s Vice President of Marketing and Communications Lisa Winkler, the Edward M. Kennedy Serve America Act was signed into law in 2009 with a goal of expanding AmeriCorps efforts and addressing various national issues, including strengthening education.  

The Corporation for National and Community Service awarded ServeMinnesota programs $14.5 million in federal AmeriCorps grants, ranking fourth in the nation behind California, Washington and New York.  

Twin Cities Habitat for Humanity AmeriCorps, Minnesota Alliance with Youth, Minnesota Conservation Corps and many other programs will also receive AmeriCorps funding this year.  

The Minnesota programs receiving federal AmeriCorps grants are focused on youth literacy and schooling, environmental conservation and affordable housing.

Radio Theatre: Then and Now

This is a feature story written for my Spring 2010 Writing for the Media 2 class. It needed more of a central focus and angle. 

Radio Theatre: Then and Now

Lucky Strikes cigarettes are good for your throat.  Maxwell House is good to the last drop.  Chiclets can cheer you up.  There’s always room for J-E-double L-O. Tide gets clothes cleaner than any soap.  

It’s the “Golden Age” of radio. 

Beginning in the 1920s, the Golden Age of radio drew thirty million listeners in, according to the Spring 1992 issue of the Organization of American Historians (OAH) Magazine of History. 

Popular radio programs combined with Theodore Roosevelt’s “Fireside Chats” left Americans in the Great Depression with their ears frequently attuned to that large brown box in their living room.  Though soon to be replaced with a different brown box in years to come, Americans had comedy, drama, suspense, space travel, children’s programs, game shows, and soap operas – all at the turn of a dial.   According to the History the University of San Diego (USD) history department website, two out of three homes had radio sets during the depression, and radio programs were being aired 24 hours a day.    

Radio programs of the 1930s and 1940s, now known as “old-time radio,” included a wide variety of genre’s that many still remember today.  Many of the most remembered and referenced old-time radio shows are the comedies, such as the Jack Benny show, Burns and Allen, Abbot and Costello, and Fibber McGee and Molly. 

            In addition to the main portion of the program, these comedies often had live orchestras or singers performing musical numbers.  One station may air 19 different programs or musical performances within 7 hours, according to the spring 1992 issue of OAH Magazine of History.  Catchy commercials for Jell-O, Lucky Strikes cigarettes, Johnson’s Wax, Pepsodent toothpaste, and Tide were also prevalent.      

Originally airing as “Sam ‘n’ Henry” in 1926, the National Broadcasting Company (NBC) radio program “Amos ‘n Andy” was one of the most popular radio programs of 1930-1932, according to the History Deparment website of USD.  Freeman Gudsen Sr. and Charles Correll portrayed two fictional African Americans headed North to find fortune. Gudsen Sr. and Correll earned $100,000 in 1933, more than the president of NBC, and the president of the United States of America, according to the Spring 1992 issue of OAH’s Magazine of History. 

According to The Museum Encyclopedia of Broadcast Communications of Radio, Amos ‘n’ Andy had a strong impact on the development of dramatic radio.  They engineered the technique of angling their bodies and voices while recording to create the effect of multiple characters, and used a comic book plot technique that is now the standard storytelling method for a radio drama series.  Amos ‘n Andy remained the most popular program in the 7:00 p.m. time slot until 1941.  According to the Spring 1992 issue of OAH’s Magazine of History, the show was popular because it emphasized positive elements during a bleak time.

The Golden Age of radio saw the beginning of several large corporations that are still in existence, such as NBC, Columbia Broadcasting System (CBS), American Telephone &Telegraph Company (AT&T), General Electric (GE), and Westinghouse, according to the USD history department’s website. 

NBC’s Lux Radio Theatre was one of the most prestigious radio programs of the Golden Age, and starred celebrities of the stage and screen, according to The Museum of Broadcast Communications Encyclopedia of Radio.  As prestigious as it was, Lux Radio Theatre begin in 1934 as part of a Lever sponsorship to increase toilet soap sales.  After two seasons, however, Lever wasn’t satisfied with the sales results, and moved the Lux Radio Theatre to Hollywood in hopes of drawing more viewers in by starring more popular celebrities. 

The Mercury Theatre on Air, written and directed by Orson Welles, was one of the most popular radio programs of the Golden Age and aired many dramatized works of literature, such as The Counte of Monte Cristo, a Tale of Two Cities, Treasure Island, and War of the Worlds, according to the Mercury Theatre’s website.  The first airing of War of the Worlds on October 30, 1938, included several fictional news bulletins that were so realistic many people believed the United States actually was under alien attack and panicked, calling police and family members.  According to the USD history deparment’s website, programs such as War of the Worlds and The Plot to Overthrow Christmas exposed Americans fear of war. 

News reports were seemingly absent from the radio during the Golden Age.  Only 7 percent of radio time in 1939 was news, according to USD history department.  News reports that did air during the Golden Age were usually overseen by President Franklin Delano Roosevelt (FDR), according to the Spring 1992 issue of OAH’s Magazine of History, and it may be that FDR’s radio skills strongly helped his winning an unprecedented third term as President.  He spent $2 million on radio campaigning for his first presidential election, according to the USD history department.

By the 1940s, however, news reports were more frequent and propaganda started to creep into radio as the government desired public support for World War II.  News reports weren’t all that they are today, however.  The Office of Facts and Figures, along with the Office of War Information, set content limits on what could be aired on network programming, according to the 2004 edition of Journal of Radio Studies.  Networks kept to these limits in the interest of keeping their writers and actors out of the draft, along with keeping Americans entertained.  Many Americans initially found the wartime coverage entertaining. 

According to the 2004 edition of Journal of Radio Studies, Norman Corwin began a 13-week dramatized radio series in 1942 entitled “This is War!” that depicted the war as global, and in need of Americans’ support.  The radio series accomplished its’ purpose, and was accepted by the public, the government, and the radio industry as a “pioneer effort of wartime radio.”   

With the advent of television radio’s role changed and it became mostly an outlet of music, and less of dramatized entertainment.  The Ed Sullivan Show and I Love Lucy would soon replace the 1940’s radio comedy, but not for good. 

Popular radio comedies of the Golden Age seemed to make a comeback in popularity in the 1990’s according to the June 1, 1997 edition of the New York Times, and even won over younger generations.  Old-time radio programs have even been used in Canadian classrooms to help students have an accurate understanding of the Depression era, according to the Spring 1990 issue of History and Social Science Teacher.

In 1997, at least 3,400 radio stations in the United States broadcast old-time radio programs, whether for a few hours a week, or daily.  Now old-time radio fans can listen to recordings of their favorite past programs, complete with commercials, on cd or cassette tapes, and online. 

            Golden Age radio might not just be memorable, but good for memory.  According to the September 1993 edition of Educational Gerontology, Pamela R. Durham and Margaret P. Whittemore of the University of Central Oklahoma conducted several studies on the effects of playing Golden Age music and comedy radio shows to nursing home residents.  While the comedy shows had little effect, the music programs assisted residents in reminiscing.  The study suggested that listening to Golden Age radio may help stir up memories among the elderly.

Radio drama has faced many obstacles on the road to success, according to Sarah Montague, an independent radio and audio producer, in a speech given at the June 1999 Midwest Radio Theatre Workshop. 

“Radio drama is difficult to fund…labor intensive, and series have come and gone like the more transient elements on the periodic chart,” said Montague in her speech.

Montague went on to say that radio drama is continually limited with audience surveys and fiscal crises, and dependent on membership drives. 

Radio programs with live studio audiences certainly aren’t as popular today as they were in the Golden Age, or even the 1990s, but are still in existence. 

A Prairie Home Companion, a modern day radio variety show, has been entertaining audiences live every Saturday night with “The News from Lake Wobegon,” since 1974. For the first broadcast, only 12 people attended, and admissions was $1 for adults, $.50 for kids.    Minnesota native Garrison Keillor, writer and host of “A Prairie Home Companion,” is now heard by over 4 million listeners a week, according to the program’s website.  A Prairie Home Companion features comedic skits and musical guest appearances.  Keillor said on the show’s website that the program started as a funny hobby with to do with friends, but has expanded into an achievement.  In 2006, “A Prairie Home Companion: The Movie” came out, giving viewers the opportunity to see beyond the scenes on one of Public Radio International’s most popular programs. 

L. A. Theatre Works is another modern day company that records in front of a studio audience, according to the November 2006 issue of American Theatre.  L.A. Theatre Works, however, are not entirely live, and air the recording at a later time. 

According to the May 23, 2007 issue of Tulsa World, acting for a radio theatre performance has its’ challenges, especially when performing in front of a live studio audience, and all inhibitions must be discarded at the beginning.  Surprisingly enough, however, many radio theatre actors have not acted at all before entering the world of radio theatre, a far cry from the professionals hired by Lever at the Lux Radio Theatre. 

According to the summer 2009 issue of Contemporary Review, radio drama was “an opportunity for experiment” that called for new ways of thinking as a new literary form, bringing together poetry and story-telling. 

Lawrence, Kan. resident Ryan Ellot is seeking to increase interest in old-time radio programs through a newspaper, The Old Radio Times, of which he is editor.  Ellot stumbed upon an old episode of “The Shadow” on the internet in 2000, according to the July 13, 2007 issue of Journal-World, and since then has collected around 45,000 old-time radio programs. 

"If you were born in the '70s or later, you likely have no idea radio drama ever existed. In our lifetime, radio has never been more than news, music, sports and talk," said Ellet in Journal-World.

Ellet’s claim might not be entirely true.  The invention of the internet, though it may have taken away radio listeners, increased the amount of audio drama resources available to the public.  With the development of MP3’s, internet users were able to purchase and download hours of old-time radio entertainment online, and download they did.  A plethora of old-time radio websites emerged after the development of the MP3, according to the March 13, 2003 edition of the Toronto Star.  Today the public can access many old-time radio programs and audio dramas online for free.  Internet users can even download the original recording of War of the Worlds if they want to hear the broadcast that caused hysteria in 1938. 

In 1997, the Sci-Fi channel attempted to bring a Golden Age feel back to audio dramas, with Seeing Ear Theatre (SET), according to the February 18, 1999 issue of Rolling Stone.   SET was an audio theater program that dramatized classics such as Edgar Allen Poe’s “A Tell-Tale Heart” and Franz Kafka’s “Country Doctor,” and made a new episode available each week.

Along with classics, recent fiction has also been dramatized for radio, according to Sarah Montague’s speech at the 1999 Midwest Radio Theatre Festival.  Stephen King’s “Mist” has been adapted into a radio drama.    

Current radio theater productions, such as “Adventures in Odyssey” by Focus on the Family, post an episode online each day, along with making past episodes available to the public. Focus on the Family Radio Theatre has done several other radio drama productions such as the “Chronicles of Narnia” by C.S. Lewis, and “The Secret Garden” by Frances Hodgson Burnett.

Trinity freshman Rachel Osborn is an avid listener of Christian radio dramas.  Osborn says she likes radio theatre because she can multi task while she listens to them, as opposed to television and movies, where you have to stay in one place. 

“Once you know the story line and characters, it’s almost as though they become your friends,” said Osborn.

According to the Kaufman family, producers of Zurich Radio Theater, interest in radio  dramas has increased over the past five years, largely due to productions like “Adventures in Odyssey” that are family-friendly. 

“It [radio theater] has a way of sparking the imagination, perhaps even more than video and audio can,” said the Kaufman family.  

Change the World...Two Degrees at a Time

This is an article written for the Trinity Digest, published on October 1st, 2010.

Change the World...Two Degrees at a Time

A new addition to Trinity International University’s (TIU) catalog this year allows Trinity College students to graduate with a master’s degree in cultural engagement and an emphasis in social entrepreneurship as participants of the school’s Dual Degree program.

According to Master of Arts in Cultural Engagement Director, Dr. Michael Cooper, planning for the social entrepreneurship emphasis began last year and came about as an answer to the question of how Christians are to address human and social needs, as well as a response to his research.  Cooper said his research showed an increasing number of individuals were leaving the Christian faith because they didn’t see Christians “acting like Christians.”  The social entrepreneurship emphasis focuses on putting faith in practice.

According to Trinity’s website, the emphasis focuses on “social entrepreneur ventures that create opportunities for solutions…to local and global social concerns.”

As it relates to Trinity’s mission, Cooper said social entrepreneurship is about engaging issues of human need. 

“It is very much a holistic approach to engaging culture,” he said.

According to Cooper, the emphasis gives students an advantage in pursuing their goals of social change by giving them skills to understand what’s going on in the world and the core issues behind it.  While students have a large amount of information about problems in the world, they may not know the core issue behind each one. 

“We educate students to develop a framework to understand what’s at the core of these issues.  The western mind thinks jobs will help poverty, but there are a variety of issues behind the problem,” Cooper said.

To Cooper, the most important aspect of the emphasis is that students learn to understand culture exegesis.  Students need to develop a Christian response to illiteracy, human trafficking and educational needs. 

Several students in the program are already putting their work into practice, by conducting research in Pine Ridge Reservation in South Dakota, and in Haiti.

Classes of the social entrepreneurship emphasis include several business classes, such as management and accounting, along with social entrepreneurship classes. 

The emphasis is geared toward a range of students.  Those interested in social justice issues may be interested in the program, as well as students preparing for vocational missions work.  Business majors that are focused on the social bottom line of business rather than the financial line may be interested as well.

Formerly known as the Master of Arts in Communication and Culture, the Masters of Arts in Cultural Engagement is meant to “provide students with the basic interdisciplinary tools to analyze, interpret, engage, and address culture,” according to Trinity’s website.

The university’s Dual Degree programs enable students to work on a master’s degree and bachelor degree simultaneously, allowing them to

graduate with a master’s degree in a shorter amount of time than usually required.

Sophomore Ethan Carlson, a participant of the Trinity Evangelical Divinity School Intercultural Studies Dual Degree program, said the Dual Degree program was a major factor in his decision to come to Trinity.  He said the classroom interaction between undergraduate students and graduate students in his classes has been a benefit of the program. 

“Forcing Christian ministry majors and business majors to grind out possible discrepancies they have regarding the way the Gospel should be spread is definitely beneficial for all,” Carlson said. 

TIU Celebrates RZIM Partnership

This is an article written for the Trinity Digest, published on April 17, 2010. 


The Trinity International University (TIU) community celebrated a new partnership with Ravi Zacharias International Ministries (RZIM) on Wednesday through an All-University Chapel event and a Carl F. H. Henry Center event, both held at the A.T.O Chapel. 

Ravi Zacharias, a widely known Christian apologist and evangelist, spoke at the chapel event, along with speaking at “Apologetics Beyond the Pew: A Conversation for the Church with Ravi Zacharias and Friends,” a Carl F. H. Henry Center event at 2:30 p.m.. Zacharias’ wife and Rick Pease, the president of RZIM, accompanied Zacharias on campus.

Zacharias is the first to have the title of a TIU professor at large, according to Joyce Shelton, Interim Dean of Trinity Graduate School (TGS). This means that his position encompasses all the schools of TIU. 

This partnership means TIU will have more opportunities to have Zacharias and members of his staff on campus on a more regular basis, teaching courses and seminars. According to Shelton, TGS may have a Masters degree in Cultural Engagement in the future that would have several emphases, including one in apologetics. TGS students may also have the opportunity to take courses from the Oxford Centre for Christian Apologetics, a partnership between RZIM and Wycliffe Hall of Oxford University, and there is the possibility of professor exchanges between the two schools. TIU President Craig Williford said in chapel that a small number of TIU students may also have the opportunity to travel with RZIM or have an internship at RZIM. 

At chapel, Zacharias described how the idea of a partnership came about through one of many phone conversations with John Woodbridge, Trinity Evangelical Divinity School professor of Church History and the History of Christian Thought. Shelton said that Dr. Woodbridge then brought the proposal to a group of Trinity individuals, faculty, and administrators that then discussed the possible benefits.

Williford spoke following Zacharias in chapel and further described the partnership, stressing that it is ultimately about Christ and the gospel. 

“This partnership is about equipping all of us here with a greater understanding of the gospel and the world in a way that makes sense and a life that demonstrates it,” Williford told TIU students. 

Williford also stressed the fact that the partnership is not just for graduate students, for undergraduates as well. 

According to Shelton, the partnership will benefit both Trinity and RZIM in many ways. Shelton said Trinity can provide solid educational background and credentials, while RZIM can help provide global connections and opportunities for Trinity students to engage the culture with scholarly credibility. In addition, RZIM’s team of speakers and educators will benefit Trinity’s programs at all four schools through their courses, lectures, and seminars.
Shelton said that the partnership is educational in nature, but that there is more to it. RZIM and Trinity share a common mission. RZIM seeks to train, mentor, and send speakers throughout the world to engage cultural and thinkers with the rationality of the Gospel of Christ. Similarly, cultural engagement is one of TIU’s core values, and according to their website, TIU seeks to “develop the academic knowledge and practical skills to effectively engage these cultures.” Shelton described the cultural engagement that Trinity advocates as not just evangelism or apologetics, but meeting individuals where they are. 

“In engaging the culture, credentials are important. Not just in missions, in any professions the credentials are important,” Shelton said.

In his chapel message Zacharias encouraged students to follow Nehemiah’s example in intellectually engaging the culture and seeking God’s call while avoiding the “paralysis of pessimism.” 

“When God plants a passion in your heart, it makes a difference for generations to come,” Zacharias told TIU students.