Brown Bulletin - Summer 2006

Brown Bulletin Alumni and Awana Clubs:

Dedicated to Children’s Ministry

Cole Breaks National Basketball Records

Summer 2006

a publication for alumni & friends of JOHN BROWN UNIVERSITY

letter from the

president Dear Alumni and Friends of JBU,

Greetings. We have just finished graduating a record number of students here at JBU, and it is deeply satisfying to watch faculty, staff, students, and families come together to celebrate during graduation ceremonies. We have added a baccalaureate worship service on Friday evening for the traditional undergraduates and their families, and at this service, I spoke to them from Isaiah 40:28-31. I wanted to use this final time of worship in the Cathedral to remind them of some of God’s attributes.

We have a God of the long view. He accomplishes His purposes over the long haul. He measures results over a lifetime, not over a semester or even over four years.

He sees the trajectory of our lives, and He understands how hardship, success, and challenge fit into that trajectory.

We have a God who does not grow tired or weary. We grow tired and weary from the strain of life. However, we serve a God that is with us in our weariness because He neither slumbers nor sleeps. He restores, sustains, and renews us through even the most difficult of circumstances.

We have a God whose understanding we can never fully fathom. God’s mind is not our mind, and that truth is difficult to accept when confronted with life’s suffering.

We want to understand God’s mind about the stillborn child, the AIDS victims in Africa, the tsunami in Asia, the divorce of our parents, or the rejection of our friends. But the prophet rightly reminds us that we will never fully probe the mind of God, that we will never fully have His perspective. We must trust now and understand later.

I ended my baccalaureate message by reading a note that I had received from a student the week before. He writes: “When I came to JBU I was a person that had my life compartmentalized; in one box I had my Christian ideals, and in another box I had the way I actually lived my life. Over the years here I started to meet students, professors, speakers, and others who were unlike most of the Christians that I had known before; their Christian walk was personal, and their faith was actually tangible. ... Eventually, it made me turn back to the Bible. I turned to God, and He started to redefine my faith. ... I came in as a wounded soul, and I am leaving here as a person solidified in Christ, weak in my own nature but strengthened beyond my limitations by God’s presence. Thank you.”

Notes such as this one remind me of the good work being done by so many here at JBU. The rest of this Brown Bulletin has other reminders of that good work. I trust that you will be as encouraged as I have been in reading these stories and recognizing that God continues to be at work through John Brown University.

God-speed,

Dr. Charles W. Pollard

Brown Bulletin Summer 2006

Editor

Andrea Phillips

Contributing Writers Lindsay Larsen

Andrea Phillips

Lead Designer Andrea Phillips

Design Assistance Allen Dempsey

Amanda Babcock

Production Assistance

Christine Mescher

JBU enjoys award season 5

9

Cheryl Kester Sharon Smith

Photographers

Mark Jackson Cade Truitt

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Printer

Magna IV Printing

Alumnus Larry Fowler is leading Awana Clubs International efforts to reach children around the world.

by Melody Miller

Sharp Shooter JBU senior Brandon Cole is not only a model student and athlete, but has also broken several national college basketball records.

by Dustin Tracy

departments

The Brown Bulletin is the official publication of John Brown University. It is published at 2000 West University Street, Siloam Springs, Arkansas 72761.

Director of University Communications

More Than Just Child’s Play

Andrea Phillips

Record-breaker Brandon Cole 18

features

Proofreaders

To submit story ideas, photos, feedback:

Alumni and Awana minister to children 9

5

JBU in Focus

8

Chaplain’s Corner by Tracy Balzer

15

Perspectives On ...

aphillips@jbu.edu Alumni information: Jerry Rollene Director of Alumni and Parent Relations

“Nurturing Spirituality in our Children and Grandchildren”

by Holly Catterton Allen

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$10 Million Challenge Update

17

Student Journal “A Girl Named Norma”

21

JBU Advancement Corporate and Family Foundations Support JBU

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Stories from the Road by Eric Greenhaw

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Alumni News

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Flashback JBU Star Athletes

jrollene@jbu.edu Admissions information: 888-JBU-INFO jbuinfo@jbu.edu www.jbu.edu/admissions To submit alumni news and photos: alumni@jbu.edu www.jbu.edu/alumni/magazine/index.asp

by April L. Moreton

For information about giving to JBU:

c ov e r p h o to

www.jbu.edu/giving or (800) 446-2450

pictured

John Brown University provides Christ-centered education that prepares people to honor God and serve others by developing their intellectual, spiritual, and professional lives.

Mark Jackson ’90

Alex Larsen, son of Lindsay (Dikes) Larsen ’03

jbu in focus

Letters

Walker Gift Adds $1 Million to Endowed Scholarship Funds

Appreciation for Katrina Help

My name is Diane Phillips, and I live in St. Bernard Parish, Louisiana. Week before last, we noticed buses from JBU in the area. I wanted to take just a second of your time to express our appreciation to the students of JBU for their time and selfless effort on behalf of the people of St. Bernard Parish.

Without the time donated by the many university and church organizations, many of the displaced people would be unable to return. The neighborhood your bus was in is made up of many older couples, at or near retirement age. Many of them had no flood insurance and simply do not have the funds needed to repair their homes. The students have helped lift the spirits of many forgotten victims of the storm. They give us hope that maybe the world hasn’t forgotten us after all.

We pray that God will continue to bless JBU and the students, as well as the parents and teachers that encourage these young people in their charitable work. Thanks to them and the many other students from across the nation, this small section of St. Bernard Parish has a good start on rebuilding and repairing their lives. Please keep our community in your prayers and thoughts.

classes and every day living at JBU! (Thanks, Dr. Copeland and everybody.)

• International marketing: Working for such a global company, I better know how to interpret and understand international issues affecting our business. (Thanks, Mr. King.)

• Business communication: I have to prepare a lot of business presentations, and I need to be clear and concise in order to communicate effectively. (Thanks, Mr. Balla.)

I always remember my time at JBU, and I hope I can visit you soon. Thank you for being such wonderful teachers, mentors, and friends! God bless you all.

Sincerely,

No Escaping JBU or Rose Bud

Diane Phillips St. Bernard Parish, LA

Thank You, Professors Dear JBU Professors:

Greetings from sunny San Pedro Sula, Honduras! After four years at JBU, now I am back in my home country. I work for the Coca-Cola Company as a market and operations analyst. It has been always my dream to work for a global company, and what a better opportunity than The Coca-Cola Company that has operations worldwide. I am using all the knowledge that every one of you taught me while at JBU. For you to have an idea, I use: • Micro/Macroeconomics: This has helped me a lot in order to prepare weekly and monthly reports about our business.

(Thanks, Dr. Butts.)

• Financial spreadsheets, accounting, finance: I use Excel to produce reports every single day! (Thanks, Mr. McCullough and Dr. Kenelley.)

• Statistics, financial math: Most of my job has to do with interpreting numbers from HUGE database systems and making analysis of these! (Thanks, Walito.)

• Leadership and management: I have to negotiate with our bottler every day, so I make use of all the concepts and techniques that I learned in the leadership classes to always finish in a winwin situation. (Thanks, Dr. Haak.)

• Project management: I have to be very careful with everything that has to do with project management. (Thanks, Mr. O’Brien.)

• Ethics: Every day at work I remember the principles and ethics values that I learned as a business student at JBU, in my

Brown Bulletin Summer 2006

Sincerely, Hernán A. Reyes ’05 Market & Operations Analyst - Honduras The Coca-Cola Company, Latin Center Division

JBU Friends,

I just got a phone call from a friend, Paul, from Rose Bud, Arkansas (where I grew up). He was in the Viet Nam war and just returned from visiting Viet Nam for the first time since the war.

In Saigon, he sat down in a restaurant and started visiting with a husband and wife who, as it turned out, are American missionaries to Saigon. They asked him where he’s from, and he laughed and said, “A place you’ve never heard of: Rose Bud, Arkansas.” They started laughing and said, “Yes, we have. We both graduated from a little private college in Northwest Arkansas in the ’80s and had an English teacher who told wild stories about Rose Bud.” Paul said, “That must have been JBU and Shirley Thomas.” They screamed, “Yes!” It was Jennifer (Foy) Hetrick ’85 and her husband Tim ’85. What are the chances that in Saigon someone from Rose Bud, Arkansas, would run into someone who graduated from JBU, much less who knew someone from Rose Bud? Paul said, “Shirley, I went 15,000 miles! Woman, there is no getting away from you!”

The world is small and JBU really is internationally-known, both in Rose Bud and Saigon. I guess we’d better behave ourselves because we can never escape.

Shirley Forbes Thomas, Ph.D. President, Thomas-Forbes & Kester, LLC Fayetteville, AR

Letters are published with the permission of the author. Some letters have been edited for length. Not all letters can be published. Published letters will be selected based on the value of their content, tone, clarity, and other similar characteristics. Send your letters by e-mail to Andrea Phillips at aphillips@ jbu.edu or by U.S. mail to: Andrea Phillips, Brown Bulletin Editor, John Brown University, 2000 West University Street, Siloam Springs, AR 72761.

In January, the Willard & Pat Walker Charitable Foundation, Inc. pledged $500,000 to JBU’s endowed scholarship fund to benefit students in the biblical studies division. Because the Walker Foundation gift qualified for JBU’s $10 Million Challenge campaign, it was matched with $500,000 from an anonymous donor to create a $1 million endowment. This Walker endowment fund will provide significant scholarships to 15 to 20 students each year beginning in the fall 2006 semester.

“JBU is deeply grateful to the Walker Foundation for this wonderful gift. It will benefit JBU students for generations,” said JBU President Chip Pollard. “The students in our biblical studies division are some of our finest. They go out from JBU to become leaders in churches, camps, youth programs, missions, and social services organizations throughout Northwest Arkansas and around the world. The Walker scholarship fund will make a great difference in helping these students earn their JBU degree and continue to serve others.”

The Walker Foundation designated its funds to students working toward a degree in the biblical studies division.

This includes students who are studying biblical and theological studies, cross-cultural services, children and family ministries, outdoor leadership ministries, youth ministries, and family and human services.

as community involvement. This is KLRC’s third Station of the Year award in the past five years. Sean Sawatzky ’96, station manager, attributes the station’s success to its focus on community involvement.

“If we aren’t serving the people who listen to our station, we are no different than a CD player, iPods, or satellite radio,” he said. “Christian radio is a partnership—a relationship, and we must never lose sight of this.”

In the past year, KLRC experienced record growth as it became one of the top stations in Northwest Arkansas with 50,000 listeners.

“I am excited to share this award with our listeners,” Sawatzky said.

“They play such an important role in KLRC’s success. This honor is their’s as much as it is our’s!”

Since KLRC features many student disc jockeys, program director Melody Miller ’00, emphasized the value of the award for undergraduates in JBU’s communication division. “It is exciting for our students who get to learn at an award-winning station,” Miller said. “Also, it is great for JBU and KLRC to be recognized in this way.”

KLRC received the award statuette during the 37th Annual GMA Music Awards, formerly the Dove Awards, on April 5. The program was broadcast through national syndication at KLRC is the only college radio station in the history of the GMA various times in April and May.

awards to be named Radio Station of the Year.

JBU SIFE Sweeps Regional Competition, Heads to Nationals

Pat Walker and Debbie Walker stand with some of JBU’s biblical studies students. The Walker Foundation scholarships will benefit students in the biblical studies division.

KLRC Named Radio Station of the Year JBU radio station 101.1 FM KLRC was selected by the Gospel Music Association (GMA) as Radio Station of the Year from a national pool of small-market Christian radio stations. KLRC is the only college station to win the award in GMA’s history.

GMA awarded KLRC this most prestigious honor in Christian radio (formerly known as the Dove Award) based on industry leadership, ratings, overall on-air sound, as well

JBU’s Students in Free Enterprise (SIFE) team presented their projects and were named regional champions at the 2005-2006 SIFE regional competition in Dallas, Texas, on Wednesday, April 12. The team advances to the national SIFE competition in Kansas City, May 21-23.

During competition, each SIFE team gives a wellrehearsed, extensive multimedia presentation explaining their projects, which support and promote free enterprise in their communities JBU’s SIFE team celebrates their win at the and beyond, educate regional competition in Dallas. others in personal Brown Bulletin Summer 2006

jbu in focus and professional finance issues, and impact the lives of others through entrepreneurship. JBU’s team highlighted only a few of their projects, including community development in Guatemala, financial education for single parents in Northwest Arkansas, and training in small business fundamentals for school-aged children.

Each team in the regional competition was assigned to one of ten different leagues for the process of elimination.

Each league names six finalists for Individual Topic Competitions (ITC). The ITCs include: the Aflac Market Economics Competition, the Discover Financial Services Success Skills Competition, the Sam’s Club Entrepreneurship Competition, the HSBC Financial Literacy Competition, the Campbell’s/Sealed Air Business Ethics Competition, and the GE Consumer Products Program Sustainability Competition.

JBU’s SIFE was the only team called forward in its league and was named a national finalist for all six categories. The team received $500 for each of the six ITC awards and $1,500 for being named regional champion.

The JBU team’s success is more remarkable than usual because, for three of the four student presenters, English is their second language.

JBU’s team has continually ranked among the top teams in the nation. Three years ago JBU SIFE placed third in the nation, and the last two years JBU SIFE has tied for fifth in JBU SIFE was named a finalist in all six the nation. For results of the categories in the competition and took 2006 national competition, home the regional title. visit www.jbu.edu/news.

JBU Business Teams Win 1st, 2nd, and 3rd in Governor’s Cup JBU students who prepared business plans for Donald W. Reynold’s Governor’s Cup for Entrepreneurial Development took three of the top six awards in the statewide competition. The awards were presented in Little Rock, Arkansas on April 12. Of the 63 undergraduate business plans submitted for the 2006 competition from four-year institutions around the state, four from JBU were among the 12 chosen to compete in the semi-final round.

The AgSolutions Corp. team, made up of JBU seniors Shawn Gatton, Meghan Kelly, Melody Masis, and Laura Redmond, received first place for the technology award (a $5,000 prize) and placed second overall (a $10,000 prize) in the undergraduate division. They presented a plan for creating “Bio-Energy” pellets from poultry litter and corn for use as an alternative heating source in poultry houses and large manufacturing facilities.

Sabor Latino, comprised of JBU sophomore Seth Brown Bulletin Summer 2006

jbu in focus JBU Virtual Tour Reaches Top Honors

JBU students’ business plans earned them a combined total of $20,000 in cash prizes at the 2006 Arkansas Governor’s Cup competition. At the competition, JBU students were able to snap a photo with sponsor Dr. Delia Haak and Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee.

Not only is the JBU virtual tour a practical tool allowing web site visitors to see the JBU campus, but it is also an award-winning multimedia presentation. Launched on the JBU web site in 2005, the virtual tour was awarded the highest rating—four stars—by CampusTours.com and was selected as the feature tour on their home page in December. In April, the Council for the Advancement and Support of Education (CASE) recognized the JBU virtual tour with their highest award—the Grand Award—in the category of Audiovisual Communications—Multimedia Presentations for CASE District IV. (District IV includes state and private colleges and universities in Arkansas, Louisiana, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Texas, and Mexico.)

The virtual tour was created by Chad Weaver ’05 as his digital media senior project. Weaver worked with JBU Uni-

Hildenbrant and seniors Emily McGuire, Ellie Thoene, and Leidi Urbina, won third place (a $5,000 prize) in the undergraduate division for their proposed Spanish language entertainment center, which would be the largest supplier of Spanish-language movies, books, and music in Northwest Arkansas.

In addition to prize money for those who won, students involved in the competition gained access to networks of successful entrepreneurs, leaders, and investors from Arkansas.

Vila Awarded Fulbright Scholar Grant Dr. David Vila, associate professor of biblical studies, has been awarded a Fulbright Scholar grant as a lecturer and researcher at Yarmouk University in Irbid, Jordan. Vila will work in Jordan August 2006 through June 2007. He will teach History of Western Thought to graduate-level students in the English department.

Yarmouk University is a state university that has approximately 20,000 students. Vila’s research project, titled “The Churches of Abila: From Byzantine to Islamic Rule,” will be an archaeological investigation of the transition from Byzantine to Islamic culture in northern Jordan and its impact on the Christian populations of the region.

The Fulbright program, the U.S. government’s flagship program in international educational exchange, was developed in 1946 for promoting “mutual understanding between the people of the United States and the people of other countries of the world,” according to the program web site. Fulbright Scholars lecture or conduct research in a wide variety of academic and professional fields.

Dr. David Vila, Fulbright Scholar

Take a virtual tour of the JBU campus at www.jbu.edu

versity Communications in the development process.

“Chad did a fantastic job putting the tour together. It’s both functional and visually appealing,” said Andrea Phillips, director of university communications. “I’m thrilled that it not only shows off our beautiful campus, but also the abilities and talents of one of our own students.”

The tour, which is hosted by junior Daniel Ostendorf, allows viewers to watch an automated presentation featuring the buildings and areas of campus or to take a self-guided tour by navigating and clicking on a campus map.

Because the tour was created before the completion of the Soderquist Business Center (SBC), the original version only mentioned the new building but did not have images or information about it. Anticipating the future need to include the SBC, Weaver and Ostendorf prepared the SBC sections of the tour to be added later. Once the building was completed, University Communications worked with Weaver to insert photos and the prerecorded material into the tour.

To view the JBU virtual tour, go to www.jbu.edu and click the “Virtual Tour” link.

JBU Advance Program in Early Childhood Education Takes Off Recognizing the need for qualified teachers in Arkansas and the desires of many adults wanting to move into the education field, JBU launched a new degree program in early childhood education in 2005 as part of the already successful Advance Program. Since the education program began in January 2005, demand has been so great that JBU is expanding the education program to its Springdale and Fort Smith centers for spring 2007. Plans are being made to take the program to Little Rock in January 2008.

The Advance Program is a degree completion program designed specifically for working adults who wish to complete a bachelor’s degree while continuing their work and family responsibilities.

Advance Program students can choose from the organizational management, business information systems, and now early childhood education programs.

Students who complete the education program will receive their bachelor of science in education (B.S.E.) and be eligible for licensure to teach preschool through fourth grade in Arkansas.

“This program is rigorous,” Dr. Gloria Gale, associate professor of teacher education, said.

“It is a mirror of our Adult students will soon have more opportunities NCATE-accredited tra- to complete a bachelor’s degree in early childhood ditional format program education through JBU’s Advance Program. for teacher education.”

NCATE is the National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education.

Since 1993, nearly 2,000 working adults have completed bachelor’s degrees through JBU’s Advance Program. The first cohort of education program students will graduate in December 2006. ■

For more information about these and other news stories, visit www.jbu.edu/news

Brown Bulletin Summer 2006

chaplain’s corner Spiritual Claustrophobia or Leave Them Wanting Less

by Tracy Balzer Director of Christian Formation My friend and I were killing time in a London airport giftshop a few years ago when we came upon a delightful tome of practical wisdom, Eeyore’s Little Book of Gloom. Its contents sent the two of us into spasms of laughter, as it was so completely the opposite of the fluffy, feel-good, gifty books one typically finds in airport shops. (Reading it aloud in a languid, quasi-bass voice also helped.) An example: “You can give the donkey a happy ending...but the miserable beginning remains forever.” And, under the title “Accentuate the Negative,” Eeyore bemoans, “We can’t all, and some of us don’t. That’s all there is to it...I’m not complaining, but There It Is [sic].”

Easy for me to laugh; I don’t have to go through life with my tail thumb-tacked on. But I do have a wee bit of misery of my own that enjoys Eeyore’s company, particularly as illustrated in the following excerpt entitled, “Leave Them Wanting Less”:

Everybody crowds round so in this Forest. There’s no Space.

I never saw a more Spreading lot of animals in my life, and all in the wrong places [sic]. Can’t you see that Christopher Robin wants to be alone?

The fact is, I need a little space now and then. My world gets too crowded with noise and activity. God’s voice is barely a squeak in the midst of it, because apparently, there is a “Spreading lot of animals” filling up my life. Eeyore knows a profound truth: “There’s no Space.”

I’m certain my students need space as well. They’ve been very productive, but in their crowded lives they, too, find it hard to hear God. So, twice a semester, I take groups of them away for the day for what is classically known as a silent retreat. They submit (reluctantly, at first) to an afternoon of no talking and no iPods, away from perfectionism and the stress of relationships, away from the “animals” that are “all in the wrong places.” We sit alone. We pray in silence. We listen for the whispers of the Holy Spirit through His Word. We make space for God.

In doing so, we discover the kind of joy that comes when the obstacles are removed, and the Holy Spirit of God is once again allowed to roam freely in and through us. It is a brilliant trade. “This is what the Sovereign LORD, the Holy One of Israel, says: ‘In repentance and rest is your salvation, in quietness and trust is your strength,’” (Isaiah 30:15). If a cynical old stuffed donkey can recognize this, surely we can, too.

We need to be deliberate about making space for God. There It Is. ■

Brown Bulletin Summer 2006

For JBU alumnus Larry Fowler, leading a global ministry is more than just

Child’s Pl ay

by Melody Miller ’00

A

group of young Iraqi children approach an American soldier in a city outside of Baghdad in an attempt to persuade some of the soldiers to join them in a game of soccer.

The solider is a believer and says to the children, “We’ll play your games with you if you’ll play our games with us.” The soldiers play soccer with the children.

Then they draw a game formation in the dirt and begin to teach the children their games. As the children play relay games, running around the circle and lines drawn on the ground, it begins to feel as though, for the moment, these children are no longer living in the middle of a war-zone.

When it is time for the children to leave, they beg the soldiers for permission to come back the next day. The next day, 40 children show up to play, bringing their parents along to watch.

What seems like a simple community activity to the children and their parents is, to the American soldiers, the beginning of a new Awana club.

Brown Bulletin Summer 2006

Some photos were provided courtesy of Awana Clubs International.

right: The Fowlers’ local Awana Clubs raised $28,000 in a week to get the Awana ministry started in Russia. “We covered half a gym floor with fake dollar bills to illustrate how much was raised,” Fowler says.

right: Larry and Diane Fowler (shown with their children) serving as Awana missionaries in 1992.

The soldiers, who have been Awana leaders in their churches at home, continue introducing activities to the families, sharing the Gospel through the tools of Awana. Within a few weeks, many Iraqi parents and children trust Christ as their Savior.

A world away, children in an Awana club in Arkansas are playing the same kinds of games on a formation drawn on the sanctuary floor at Siloam Springs Bible Church, less than a mile from JBU. The children in Arkansas, like the children in Iraq, are hearing the Gospel through the tools of Awana. For decades, JBU students and alumni have been among those serving in various ways with Awana clubs in local churches and communities across the nation and around the world.

For the last 27 years, Larry Fowler ’74 has been a significant part of the growth and vision of Awana Clubs International, serving as an Awana missionary in California, creating the Awana curriculum used to reach junior high students, developing training materials for Awana missionaries, and overseeing what has become a worldwide Awana movement. Fowler currently serves as the executive director of programs and training for the organization, which is the leading ministry in the effort to help local churches reach children and youth for Christ.

The word Awana is an acronym that stands for “Approved Workmen Are Not Ashamed,” taken from 2 Timothy 2:15, a verse that millions of children in the Awana program have memorized through the years: “Do your best to present 10 Brown Bulletin Summer 2006

yourself to God as one approved, a workman who does not need to be ashamed and who correctly handles the word of truth” (NIV). Most people who have experienced Awana will tell you that scripture memory is a cornerstone of the Awana program. A student who participates in Awana from the age of four until he or she graduates from high school will memorize more than 800 Bible verses.

Often Awana clubs form at the request of a local church seeking a supplemental program for their children’s ministry.

Many times, however, Awana clubs become the catalyst for church growth when a community Awana club, established

by Awana missionaries, reaches out to children and their families, spurring the formation of a new church.

Awana operates as a weekly club for children who play games, hear Bible stories, recite Bible verses, and take part in the kinds of ceremonies and competitions you would expect to find in any club for children. Awana clubs around the world look very similar; however, the curriculum for each club is tailored to fit the local community and culture.

Fowler has invested his life in the spiritual training of children through Awana Clubs International. His call to serve in Larry Fowler is executive director of programs and training with Awana Clubs International.

children’s ministry came when he was young, after his own childhood limited his opportunities to interact with other children. Growing up on a cattle ranch in a small town in western Nebraska, he attended school in a one room schoolhouse with no one in his grade, no one in the grade below, and only one girl in the grade above. “[It was] a very sparsely populated part of the U.S.,” Fowler says. “There were no other children my age.”

A weeklong Bible camp was the highlight of Fowler’s summers. He enjoyed every moment spent with other children. In excited anticipation, he would begin packing for camp at least a month before he was to leave.

At the age of 13, while at camp, Fowler knew that God was calling him to a life of full-time ministry. That call was clarified later that same summer when he was invited to help lead a Vacation Bible School.

“It was the greatest honor to be asked [to lead VBS], and I took it very seriously. That was the beginning of God putting a passion in me for children’s ministry,” Fowler says. This passion for reaching children would be further encouraged during his years attending JBU. Fowler describes his JBU experience as an “absolutely superior Bible education” that was foundational to his ability to serve and grow the ministry of Awana. In a time before there was a children and family ministry degree at JBU, Fowler learned how to apply knowledge to his calling through the godly examples of Dr. Jim Walters, Dr. Gil Weaver, and his mentor, Dr. Richard Ruble. “They helped

me cut my teeth on children’s ministry,” Fowler says.

After graduating from JBU, Fowler moved to California with his wife Diane (Lindsay) ’73 to attend Talbot Seminary.

Four years later, while working full time as a youth pastor at a church in Riverside, California, Fowler learned about the Awana program. He began using the program in their church, and in a short time their ministry exploded.

“Within a year, we were having more children attend our Awana meeting than were attending the church on Sunday morning,” Fowler says. Through that experience, God gave Larry and Diane a love for Awana and a call to work with Awana in their ministry to children and youth. Awana would be the tool they would use to share the Gospel.

Larry and Diane served as faith-supported Awana missionaries to churches in the Los Angeles area from 1979 until 1996. During this time, Larry completed an independent study of the junior high Awana program as one of his last seminary requirements. He realized through his research that Awana was not retaining students in the seventh and eighth grade. He submitted his recommendations to both the seminary program and Awana headquarters. Accordingly, Awana asked him to develop the curriculum for a new program geared to reach junior high students, now known as the Awana Jr. Varsity Program.

In 1996, the Fowlers moved their family to Illinois where Larry accepted a position at the Awana Clubs International headquarters, training Awana missionaries, most of whom were in the U.S. “We enjoyed the opportunity to do a lot Brown Bulletin Summer 2006 11

left: Fowler prepares to speak for Awana at a church in Venezuela in 2003.

right: An AwanaGamesTM event at UCLA’s Pauley Pavillion led by the Fowlers in 1994. About 4,000 children and youth from local churches competed in different activities. “The great joy was we witnessed 60plus parents saved that day,” Fowler says.

of creative things in innovative ways in doing our ministry, and the administration wanted others to learn about that,” Fowler explains.

Fowler soon realized, however, that international missionaries would benefit most from additional training.

He began traveling more internationally, serving the 40 to 50 international missionaries who were taking the Awana movement abroad. As Fowler focused on Awana’s global expansion, the number of international Awana missionaries grew to more than 300.

Through his years of involvement in the ministry of Awana, Fowler’s own spiritual growth has been challenged as he memorizes God’s Word. Because scripture memory is such a vital part of the Awana program, Fowler strives to lead by example in memorizing verses, just as the children and leaders do.

JBU freshman Scott Key has learned over 800 verses as part of the Awana program. Key grew up in Temple, Texas and attended the Awana program through high school. He now volunteers as an Awana leader for third- through sixthgrade boys at Siloam Springs Bible Church. “You memorize a lot of verses,” Key says. “Those verses have helped me through my life, and I thought it would be a good thing to encourage those students [at SSBC].”

Glenda Manos ’75, head of the Awana program at Siloam Springs Bible Church for 21 years, says she has chosen to give her time to serving in the Awana ministry because she 12 Brown Bulletin Summer 2006

believes in the biblically-based Awana philosophy, particularly the emphasis on memorization and the opportunity for parents to discuss biblical principles and concepts with their children. When children leave the Awana program, Manos says, her prayer is that “when the times get rough, there will be some Bible verse that comes back to heart, and they will say, ‘Oh, yeah—that’s what it’s all about—God says this.’”

In 2003, Awana Clubs International established a new effort focused on redesigning Awana programs to keep up with technology and trends. Aware that the current generation of children is growing up in a different world than the generations who went before, Awana is committed to keeping biblical messages consistent while addressing the needs and culture of today’s children. Fowler was named executive director of programs and training over the new division aimed at leading the organization to find the most effective ways to communicate the Gospel to today’s kids.

Awana is also addressing the needs of the family by increasing its focus on encouraging parental involvement.

Awana recently established the Rorheim Institute, a leader and parent development network that provides training through studies, conferences, and seminars across the country. The Institute offers education and resources to help parents in the biblical concept from Proverbs of “training up a child in the way he should go.”

“God began to burden my heart and the hearts of all of us around the need to get back to scripture’s model and engage parents more in raising children,” Fowler says. “We began to

understand that Christian parents have been doing a lot of delegating of the responsibility, instead of doing it themselves.”

Dr. Holly Allen, associate professor of Christian ministries and director of the children and family ministries program at JBU, agrees that an emphasis on parents being the spiritual leaders for their children is crucial.

“The biblical imperative is for parents to train up a child in the way they should go. The church’s responsibility is to come alongside parents, to help in that intentional aspect,” Allen says.

Allen describes that parents are often relieved to turn over this responsibility to the church, and then they find themselves feeling unable and incapable of training their children. One way that Awana helps parents feel empowered to teach and train their children is in encouraging parents to help children memorize Bible verses. This opens doors for family conversations about biblical principles.

JBU senior Laura Kiehlbauch, one of Allen’s students and an Awana volunteer, says her work with Awana has enabled her to see firsthand the concepts that she is learning in the classroom and the importance of children having godly adults in their lives. She is excited about the new Awana initiatives to intentionally include parents.

“Parents are the primary source of their children’s spiritual education, whether or not they recognize it. Parents need to realize that teaching their children is ultimately their responsibility, and a local church’s children’s ministry needs to focus on empowering the family to do just that,”

Kiehlbauch says.

As Fowler has worked with Awana through the years, the importance of children’s ministry has become an urgent message that he desires to share with the world. In many cultures, children are viewed as insignificant, and many churches do not see children’s ministry as a high priority.

Fowler speaks of the importance of children’s ministry in his book, Rock-Solid Children’s Ministry: Building Your Ministry to Kids Upon a Scriptural Foundation, saying, “Sometimes children are viewed in terms of their future value. But to Jesus, children were precious in the here and now, and He gave them His full attention and love.”

Fowler explains, “There is a window of opportunity that many people are not aware of that exists from the ages of four or five to age 12, in which nearly every individual on the face of the earth is most open and most receptive to the Gospel of Jesus Christ. And, once a person hits the age of 12 or 13, the window of opportunity to their receptivity of the Gospel begins to close.”

Awana clubs are active in 12,000 American churches in all 50 states and in 4,000 churches abroad in more than 100 countries. The number of children Awana reaches each week is about 1.2 million, enough to fill 20 football stadiums lined end to end, Fowler describes. However, the number of children who have not yet heard the Gospel is far greater.

These children are close to Fowler’s heart as he continues to dedicate his life to reaching children. ■

Brown Bulletin Summer 2006 13

NEEDS YOU! Did you know that MOST of the students at JBU are referred to us by people like you?

If you know a high school student preparing for college, refer them to JBU!

Just fill out the postage-paid reply card in this magazine or go to the JBU web site: www.jbu.edu/admissions/forms/referral.asp

Help us spread the word about JBU!

Perspectives On ...

Nurturing Spirituality

in our Children and Grandchildren

by Holly Catterton Allen, Ph.D.

A common refrain I hear from younger parents is, “I don’t want my kids to just know Bible facts; I want them to know God.” These parents are echoing the current quest to raise children who are spiritual—that is, children who know God. In my course for children and family ministry majors on children’s spirituality, we explore seven ways to nurture, enhance, develop, and promote spiritual development in children.

I would like to briefly describe three of those seven ways.

The Master Story

Part of knowing God is knowing about God. Hearing the Christian master story is an important way that children come to identify with the people of God and come to know God as their own God.

What is the master story? It is God’s story: God has worked throughout the ages to draw people to Himself—Adam and Eve, Noah, Abraham, Joseph, the Israelites, the kings, the prophets. Mostly, they rejected Him. Then He sent His Son to make a better way for His people to come to him.

And now—we tell our children—God is calling you, just as he called all the others we read about. Your story is part of the master story. How can we share the master story?

• Tell the Bible stories. This may seem obvious, but when we are concerned that children know God, we may skip over the importance of knowing about God.

• Add the faith stories from those in your church to the Hebrews 11 lineup: By faith, Noah... By faith, Moses... By faith, Latisha Banks pursued the call to go to China... By faith, the Turners adopted their grandchild....

• Share your own stories of faith: when you gave your life to God, when God convicted you of sin, how God rescued you from a dangerous place, when God came near.

ally when they are with others who are farther along in the Christian journey, participating with more mature believers doing authentic Christian things.

How can we encourage intergenerational interaction?

• Promote intergenerational worship in your church—all the generations together.

• Take your children to weddings, to funerals, to church potlucks, to graduations, to baby dedication services, to send-off parties for missionaries.

• With your children or grandA Sense of Wonder

Children think deeply about God children, take food to a needy family. and wonder what He is like. We need Go on a mission trip with the youth to allow time for spiritual knowing, group. Ask three of the widows in your time for children to think, contem- church to Sunday dinner—or take plate, listen, perceive, and receive. We them out—with your children.

• Join an intergenerational small need to allow time for children to ex- perience the wonder of God. How can group where each family is prayed for every week, where everyone answers we encourage a sense of wonder?

• Take time for unhurried walks an icebreaker question like “What is and ask questions like, “I wonder how your favorite ice cream flavor?” and the dogwoods know when to bloom?” where everyone knows your name and the names of your children. or, “I wonder why there are stars?”

• Allow children to attend fu- The spiritual needs of adults and nerals or memorial services. Listen to their reflections concerning death. children are not vastly different. Needs Ask questions like, “I wonder what it of both can be met in mutual settings. will be like to see Jesus for the very first In his book From One Generation to Another, Eddie Prest writes: “The time?”

• When you tell the parables that optimal spiritual impact upon children Jesus taught, ask questions like, “I will take place in a warm, belonging, wonder how the sheep that was lost felt caring, and concerned interaction with the gathered people of God....” Let’s when the shepherd came?”

Children love to wonder. Encour- gather our children around us, tell aging wonder taps into that deep spiri- them the master story, allow time for tual realm where God and child can wonder, worship together with all the generations present, and come to know meet.

God together. ■ Intergenerational Settings Dr. Allen is associate profes Children want to do things with sor of Christian ministries and adults. Yet, the societal trend to- director of the children and family ministry program at JBU. She ward age segregation has moved into speaks regularly at conferences churches also. Age-based classes, teen and churches concerning children’s programs, and separate worship ser- spirituality and intergenerational vices for adults and children tend to issues. She has written about these subjects for professional journals separate families and age groups from and other Christian publications. each other. But children grow spiritu- Her book on children’s ministry is

• Allow your children and grandchildren into your current story: how God is still calling you, how you still struggle, and how you are answering His current call on your life.

Children come to meet God and know the deep realities of faith through stories. Through hearing God’s story, the stories of the Bible, and family stories of faith and struggle, they come to see that they themselves are part of that Christian master story.

expected to be published next year.

14 Brown Bulletin Summer 2006

Brown Bulletin Summer 2006 15

*Comprehensive Colleges - Bachelor’s Southern Region,2006

Student Journal

A Girl Named Norma

THE $10 MILLION CHALLENGE! Thanks to the generosity of JBU alumni and friends

UPDATE

JBU will award over $100,000 in new scholarships in 2006!

“We’re excited and we’re thankful!” This is the feeling of all of us at JBU when it comes to the $10 Million Challenge. As reported in an earlier issue of the Brown Bulletin, the $10 Million Challenge is a challenge made by an anonymous donor to alumni and friends of JBU to add $10,000,000 to existing and new endowed scholarship funds. This friend of JBU has pledged up to $5,000,000 in matching funds for all cash and deferred gifts designated to endowed scholarships that meet minimal criteria.

• JBU has already received over $3.5 million in gifts and matching funds toward the $10 million goal.

• Who has been giving to the Challenge?

• What kinds of

• As a result of

JBU alumni, friends, parents, JBU faculty and staff, corporations, and foundations have all given to the Challenge. gifts are they giving? We have received cash, real estate, stocks, and mutual funds.

We have received deferred gifts in the form of charitable gift annuities and charitable remainder trusts. these gifts, over $100,000 in new student scholarships will be awarded for the 2006-2007 academic year!

One Example: Bobbie Laughlin ’55 graduated with a degree in math. She taught for 35 years in Detroit area public schools, and she has been a JBU supporter for many of those years. In 2001 Bobbie established an endowed scholarship that gives preference to female math majors. When she heard about the $10 Million Challenge she was inspired to dramatically increase her giving to her existing scholarship. To take advantage of the matching opportunity, Bobbie gave gifts of vacant land and cash, and now is in the process of giving a rental property to JBU. JBU will sell the land and rental property and place the proceeds of the sale with her cash gift into Bobbie’s existing scholarship fund. The total amount of Bobbie’s gifts added to the fund will be matched dollar-for-dollar by the anonymous donor. The matching funds will also be placed into Bobbie’s scholarship fund.

The $10 Million Challenge has given Bobbie and many other JBU alumni and friends a vision for scholarship development!

For this we are excited and thankful!

If you would like more information about the $10 Million Challenge, please contact Jim Krall, Paul Eldridge, or your regional director of development, James Elliott or Eric Greenhaw, by calling (800) 446-2450.

The following is an actual journal entry written by a current JBU student. With the student’s permission, we share it with you to give you a glimpse into the hearts and minds of our students.

Sometimes God puts people in our lives whether we like it or not. Her name is Norma.* She is the person who eats alone at lunch and confesses to have self-esteem and image problems and will share about how hard it is to make new friends.

During the first few days at JBU, I called home complaining selfishly about how it was difficult to meet people who actually cared who I was. Yeah, everyone was very nice but I wasn’t feeling like people were taking an interest in me as a person. My dad, in all of his wisdom said, “Jill,* be there for other people who are even less comfortable than you are. You think this is difficult for you? What is it like for people who are really lonely? Work on reaching out to others in need.”

Okay… Maybe I don’t want to. It’s easier to stay in my bubble and enjoy meeting people who I connect with.

I’ve noticed myself sitting with the same eight or ten people at meals and hanging out with the same people. Is this a bad thing? Is developing relationships with people something that can be seen as bad?

Her name is Norma. I’ve talked to her several times, and her social awkwardness is no secret. During the course of our lunch conversation, she begins to go into detail about her problems with warts and how herbal remedies haven’t helped them yet. Then somehow she switches topics to other personal health issues that cause a variety of problems for her. All I can think about is what people at the tables nearby must be thinking if they are hearing any part of this conversation. I don’t know how to respond to her, and I don’t really need to; she just wants someone to take the time to listen to her. It’s apparent that she’s not used to having friends.

Several days pass, and I don’t see her. I am thankful because then I won’t have to choose between my group of friends and Norma. I walk into the cafeteria with friends and head up to the lunch line. There she was with her back turned to me, but I knew it was her. Great!! Now I have to choose again: do I sit with her or with my friends? They’ve already sat down, and there’s definitely no more room at our crowded table. What am I going to do? Thoughts race through my head as I reach the end of the line, Jill, someone else will sit with her… it’s not YOUR job to be the ONLY one to reach out to her… you need to make good friends too… ME, ME, ME… What am I going to do!?!?

More importantly, what would Jesus do? WOW… not exactly what I wanted to be thinking about at that moment. I tried desperately to push these thoughts out of my head. But Jesus is supposed to be my model. I long to be more like Him. He didn’t hang out with the popular crowd of priests and Pharisees. Rather, He spent His time with the outcast, the friendless; this is not a strength I possess.

Then a picture comes to my mind of my dad. He is sitting in a back corner of our church talking to a guy named John. John’s tattered clothes and ragged appearance weren’t what people were attracted to. My dad, though, reached out and touched him in a way few people can do. I want this quality in me. I often shy away from these chances. Why? My pride gets in the way, and my selfishness gets the better of me.

I was so wrapped in developing my own friendships that I forgot about loving those who needed it the most.

“Why?,” I asked God, “I need people too; I want to be loved too!” This is where loneliness turns into selfishness, when I’m so wrapped up in who wants to place value in me, I forget people like Norma. Her desire to be loved and her feelings of rejection are SO much more important than my desire for close friendships.

I reach the end of the lunch line … now I have to choose: a table of people I fit in with or discussions about warts and health problems? What would you do, Jesus? Knowing that answer very well, I walked by Norma’s table, hoping she wouldn’t notice me, hoping I wouldn’t have to acknowledge her. Then I even had the gall to pray before I ate. Sure I can bow my head in a crowded lunch room, but I can’t love. What a hypocrite I am. About two minutes into the meal, I picked up my tray and told my friends I’d catch up with them later. Every ounce of me wanted to stay where I was. Walking up to Norma’s table, my feet felt like lead.

Why, God, do I have to love her? Why ME? Then my answer came. I could just picture Jesus on the cross. “Jill, why did I have to die on the cross for you? Did I have to? I love you, why can’t you love her?” Amazing how things can be put into perspective so quickly. “Jill, love her like I love you.”

I set my tray down across from her. A wave of excitement must have surged through her body. The slumped demeanor and melancholy countenance of a lonely girl in seconds turned to life. Her big blue eyes were glowing; her smile encompassed the majority of her face—she was beaming. “If you do these unto the least of them, you’ve done them unto me.” Jesus is so good. ■ *To protect Norma’s dignity and her relationship with Jill, their names and identifying details have been changed.

Brown Bulletin Summer 2006 17

SHARP SHOOTER

by Dustin Tracy, Junior Journalism Major

::BRANDON COLE SETS NATIONAL RECORDS

W

ayne Cole, father of JBU star basketball player Brandon Cole, will be the first to attest to his son’s love for the game of basketball.

“When Brandon was about eight or nine, we built a basketball court at the house,” he said. “At night when it would get too dark for him to see, he would go and turn our truck headlights on. I’d come out, and he’d still be hitting his shots.”

Brandon Cole, the 6-foot 1-inch senior guard from Hector, Arkansas, has seen massive success while wearing a Golden Eagles jersey. He currently holds three Sooner Athletic Conference (SAC) records, three NAIA records, five JBU records, and the honor of winning the 2005 NAIA Division I National Championship with his teammates. He was named NAIA National Tournament MVP in 2005; SAC All-Conference first team in 2003, 2004, and 2005; SAC Freshman of the Year in 2003; NAIA National Player of the Year in 2006; and recipient of NAIA’s Champions of Character Award in 2006.

With all of his success, Cole has gotten the most media attention this 2005-2006 season for his three-point shooting alone.

In December, Cole completed a three-point shot in his 112th consecutive game, breaking the record 18 Brown Bulletin Summer 2006

for the longest string of games with made three-point shots in college basketball history. Cole continued his streak for 120 games until his three-point game was shut-out by St. Gregory’s University in January. The St. Gregory game is the only game in his college career in which Cole failed to hit a trey.

In February, Cole hit the 517th threepoint shot of his career, giving him the record for the most career threepointers of any player at any four-year college or university in the nation. Cole went on to set the new all-collegiate record at 527 successful three-point shots.

In a television interview after February’s record-breaking game, Cole was asked how it felt to break the

“It’s been really gratifying to watch Brandon break the records he’s broken, but it’s even more gratifying to know that he embodies everything that college athletics is all about.” :: John Sheehy

career three-point record at home in Murray Sells Gymnasium. Cole replied, “It’s definitely special. I’ve had a lot of great memories in this gym, in this place, with the fans, my family, my teammates—it’s all amazing. I couldn’t trade it for anything. But we really needed the win tonight, and we got the win even with the record. I’ve just got to give complete thanks to God, because He’s been amazing.”

Cole’s records not only garnered him local acclaim in newspapers and television sportscasts, but they also received national attention on ESPN twice. Some sportswriters even suggested that Cole be included in the NCAA three-point contest during March Madness, but grassroots efforts to secure an invitation failed to get him in.

“It’s been really gratifying to watch Brandon break the records he’s broken, but it’s even more gratifying to know that he embodies everything that college athletics is all about,” Golden Eagles head coach John Sheehy said.

In addition to his shooting skill, Cole is known for his good sportsmanship, his commitment to the team, and his overall athletic ability that earned him respect on the court long before he started breaking records.

Bob Battisti, men’s basketball coach for JBU’s conference foe Northwestern

December 2, 2005 :: Cole makes a three-pointer in his 112th game in a row, breaking all college records for the most consecutive games with a made three-point shot.

January 21, 2006 :: Cole’s three-point shots are shut out ending his consecutive game streak at 120 games. It is the only game in his college career that he failed to hit a trey.

February 23, 2006 :: Cole hits his 517th three-point shot, giving him more career three-point shots than any other player in the history of college basketball.

March 15, 2006 :: Cole ends his college career setting the new record for career three-point shots at 527. :: He holds the JBU record for most treys in a season with 136, set in 2005. Four times he tied the school record for most treys in a game with 9. He holds the JBU record for career scoring with 2,390 points. :: Cole is the Sooner Athletic Conference all-time leading scorer and was named SAC Player of the Year for 2006.

March 21, 2006 :: Cole is named NAIA Player of the Year.

April 18, 2006 :: Cole is named the 2006 recipient of the Dr. LeRoy Walker Champions of Character Award, perhaps NAIA’s most prestigious award.

Brown Bulletin Summer 2006 19

Oklahoma State University, said, great work ethic and he’s one of the “I enjoy sharing the gift “Brandon is mentally tough, and that’s best shooters I’ve ever seen.” why he is so hard to stop. Brandon is But Sheehy feels Cole’s athletic ability that God has given me in a player that every program dreams of is only a small part of who he really basketball with other people.” having. He’s a class act and a spokesis. “It has been a privilege to see how :: Brandon Cole person for the SAC, JBU, and the NAIA.” Brandon has grown over the years,” Dan Hays, head coach of the men’s Sheehy said, “and to know that Cole basketball team at Oklahoma Christian isn’t just a record setter; he’s one of the University, also praises Cole, “He plays finest people I’ve ever met.” in basketball with other people.” without the ball. He uses his stamina, Off the court, Cole has been a big In addition to his work with the and he doesn’t have to be dribbling part of JBU’s Champions of Character Champions of Character program, Cole the ball to be an effective player. I’ve program for the past four years. also has traveled to Eastern Europe to seen guys that run faster, jump higher, The program, initiated by the NAIA, do basketball missions. In the summer and even shoot better, but [Brandon] is is designed to promote character of 2003, Cole and his fellow teammates as good without the ball as traveled to Germany, anyone I’ve ever seen.” the Czech Republic, and Cole says that the Switzerland with Crossover work ethic that fuels his Ministries. The team put on determination on the court basketball camps for local came at an children, did skits, and gave early age. out Bibles.

“I grew up working on a “At night we’d play games ranch. My parents taught against international teams, me to never be satisfied and and the kids would come out to always work harder,” Cole and watch,” Cole said. “It was said. “At the end of every a really neat and amazing season [my father] and I experience.” would sit down together Altogether, Cole said he’s and talk about all the things happy with his experiences I did right, and then look at at JBU. “The relationships all the things I needed to do I’ve formed at JBU have better.” really been awesome,” he Cole feels that his said. “It’s been a constant teammates have been encouragement being another key to his success, surrounded by the friends especially fellow senior I’ve made at JBU, and I’ve guard Alex Terry, whom consistently grown in my many call A.T. faith the entire time I’ve been “My teammates have here.” done an unbelievable Cole doesn’t expect his job stepping up in tough basketball experience to end situations, getting me open, with his graduation this year.

Brandon Cole, with fellow senior guard Alex (A.T.) Terry, whom Cole credits getting me the ball, and After his June wedding to with helping him achieve his accomplishments. Terry holds the JBU hitting shots themselves,” former JBU basketball player record for career assists with 725.

Cole said. “A.T. is just the Bethany Sites ’04, he plans glue that holds everything to play basketball for the together. A lot of his things don’t show development in youth by connecting Arkansas Archangels, a Little Rock team up in the news and don’t show up in exemplary athletes with kids through that is a part of the World Basketball the papers, but he’s had everything to athletics. The program gives Cole and Association (WBA). Cole hopes that do with my accomplishments.” other JBU athletes the chance to speak scouts who attend WBA games will eye Terry, who has notched his fair share to young people about basketball, him to play for a team in Europe. of notable accomplishments during his maturity, and character.

“Basketball has always been a career at JBU, said he has nothing but “The Champions of Character passion of mine, and I hope as life goes respect for his teammate. program has been a really neat on, I can keep on doing it,” he said. ■ “Brandon’s gotten everything he has experience,” Cole said. “I really enjoy because he’s loved it more than anyone working with the kids, and I enjoy Portions of this article were previously printed in the I’ve ever seen,” Terry said. “He’s got a sharing the gift that God has given me Threefold Advocate, JBU’s student newspaper.

20 Brown Bulletin Summer 2006

Corporate and Family Foundations Provide Financial Base for Programs and Facilities

by April L. Moreton, Ph.D. Director of Foundation and Corporate Relations

You are probably aware that as a non-profit organization, JBU relies on gifts to the JBU Scholarship Fund to fund need-based scholarships and work-study jobs for students. You may not know that tuition dollars are not used to pay for new buildings or that tuition dollars do not cover the full cost of operating the university.

So, where does JBU get the resources to expand programs and build facilities?

For new programs and facilities, as well as many scholarships, JBU relies heavily on grants and gifts from family and company foundations, government agencies, and corporate giving programs.

Many families who have been blessed with financial resources establish foundations that award financial gifts to causes that support their vision.

The Walton Family Foundation, for example, established JBU’s Walton International Scholarship Program to educate Central American students who will be able to impact their countries in the future. The Walker Family established an endowed scholarship for biblical studies majors because they believe in Christian education. The Soderquist Business Center and the Pat and Willard Walker Student Center exist because of families who want to support JBU’s Christian mission by providing stateof-the-art classrooms and comfortable housing for students. Foundations often evaluate JBU’s alumni giving as they determine whether to award a grant. Thus, your gift to the JBU Scholarship Fund not only provides need-based scholarships to worthy students, but it also impacts whether a foundation will support the university.

Government grants are also part of this mix. Last year, the U.S. Department of Education awarded JBU a Student Support Services grant that provides academic and financial assistance to low-income, firstgeneration college students and students with disabilities. In 2003, the Arkansas Biomedical Research Infrastructure Network (BRIN) awarded JBU a grant that provided the funds to hire a biochemist to teach, conduct research, and develop an undergraduate research program.

Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. The Kresge Foundation The Walker Family Foundation Flintco Constructive Solutions Aramark Campus Services The Soderquist Family Foundation The Dr. Scholl Foundation

These companies and foundations, just to name a few, supoort the mission of JBU. And they prove it in very tangible ways.

Companies, too, contribute to JBU in various ways. Many provide employee-matching programs that double an employee’s gift to JBU by matching it dollar-for-dollar. Others choose to support JBU programs directly. For example, Flintco, an area construction firm, helps support the Eagle Development Project in JBU’s construction management program. And, local businesses all over Northwest Arkansas donate products and coupons for JBU events.

The relationship JBU enjoys with these foundations, agencies, and companies has resulted in more student scholarships, new academic programs, progressive research, and the facilities that we all enjoy. God has truly blessed JBU by bringing these organizations alongside us to offer students a quality Christian education. ■

Brown Bulletin Summer 2006 21

stories from the road

by Eric Greenhaw, Regional Director of Development

I

’ve had the privilege to meet many wonderful and interesting people during my travels around the United States for John Brown University. I met Steve Horne ’75 about a year ago during a trip to the Chicago area where he lives with his wife Amy and their two children. Steve has a plumbing business. He also has a particular interest in missions, so he spends some of his free time in mission work and plans to spend his retirement in mission work as well.

Steve also loves riding his motorcycle and spends time riding cross-country with friends. On a recent trip in August 2005, Steve and John Wiemer ’77, both graduates of the building construction and design program, made a several-thousand-mile motorcycle trip that included roaring through the Black Hills, Grand Teton National Park, the Big Horn Mountains, and Yellowstone National Park. While at the north entrance of Yellowstone Park, they posed for a photo with their Harleys, wearing their JBU t-shirts.

Steve and John were close friends while attending JBU, and they look forward to catching up each year on their annual motorcycle trips. These trips have taken them to most of the lower 48 states in the past five years.

This year, they plan to take a trip up the coasts of California and Oregon with another alumnus and friend while he is on furlough from the mission field in Africa.

Steve keeps an extra motorcycle at home just so missionaries and friends can join him for road trips.

John Wiemer ’77 and Steve Horne ’75 Steve told me that he would love to hear from any other alumni who have an interest in joining him and John in their excursions. Visit the online alumni directory for their contact information, or contact the alumni relations office at alumni@jbu.edu or (479) 524-7212.

Mind your own (and a JBU student’s) business!

Get involved in the JBU

Career Network

When you become part of JBU’s Career Network, you can play a key role in guiding a student’s career path by connecting them with internship and job opportunities where you work.

To learn more, visit www.jbu.edu/alumni or contact: Dan Noyes, Director of Career Development at (479) 524-7282 Jerry Rollene, Director of Alumni and Parent Relations at (479) 524-7212

22 Brown Bulletin Summer 2006

alumni news We’re now including wedding and birth announcements within the decade sections of the alumni notes. For publication in future issues, please send information and photos to JBU Alumni Relations, 2000 West University Street, Siloam Springs, AR 72761 attn: Alumni News. To submit your imformation online, go to www.jbu.edu/alumni. On the alumni web pages, you can find the most current classmate information, update your own information, learn about upcoming events, and read our standards for publishing alumni news in the magazine.

In order to protect the privacy of JBU alumni and prevent the misuse of personal information on the Internet, we have deleted the alumni news from this online edition.

JBU Professor’s Journals Published Excerpted from John Panage’s journal, The Panage Papers provides a fascinating view of the world during and after the Cold War through the eyes of this former JBU professor.

Get the special price of $15 by ordering from the publisher: Moon Lake Publishing Co. 14213 Lake Forrest Heights Siloam Springs, Arkansas 72761

Moon Lake Publishing Co. 147 Ridgeland Maumelle, Arkansas 72113

Also available at regular price from Amazon.com, BarnesandNoble.com, and Borders.com or in bookstores at John Brown University, Hastings in Springdale and Fayetteville, and Air Host at the Northwest Arkansas Airport.

Brown Bulletin Summer 2006 23

from the

director’s desk I still remember my surprise and delight when Dr. and Mrs. Gilbert showed up at our wedding on a cold, icy day in March 1979. Why did this former professor and his supportive wife drive 700-plus miles, one way, to northern Illinois to attend? Was it because we were so special? No, but because they were!

In honor of Dr. Marc D. Gilbert 1913-2006

In order to protect the privacy of JBU alumni and prevent the misuse of personal information on the Internet, we have deleted the alumni news from this online edition.

Soon after I arrived on campus for my freshman year, I met with this elderly but energetic, scholarly-looking man in his austere office on the second floor of the classroom wing of the Cathedral building. I can’t remember everything we talked about at that first meeting, but I do remember Dr. Gilbert saying to me, “Jerry, it doesn’t matter whether you have a problem with your studies, your faith, or girls, my office door is always open to you.” Then he chuckled ever so lightly behind that tight lipped smile of his. And you know, he meant it!

Dr. Gilbert went home to be with the Lord in March this year. At Dr. Gilbert’s memorial service here in Siloam Springs, Travis Jones ’73 who spoke and Mark Cavender ’74 who sent a written tribute in his absence reminded me of the powerful, life-changing impact this dedicated professor had on so many of us who benefited from and endured his challenging method of teaching.

Those dreaded “10-point opportunities” (which others might call pop quizzes).

Those on-the-spot questions in communications class like, “Jerry, can you please spell ‘entrepreneur?’” That immovable, elusive 94% needed for an A. Those devilish red pen markings on our papers. All these are memories of a man who taught as if our lives depended on his doing it right . . . and we are now glad he did. “[He] was without a doubt the toughest professor I ever had at JBU. He demanded more from us as students than I sometimes thought we were capable of giving,” Mark Cavender wrote.

Amount of time it took to graduate from JBU:

“His love for students and their future still inspires me to this day. Dr. Gilbert was a man who finished the race with grace,” Travis Jones said.

4 years

You are invited to participate in a tribute to Dr. Gilbert by e-mailing me your own reflections of this man who taught us all so well. (My e-mail address is jrollene@ jbu.edu.) We will add them to the alumni web site where you can read Dr. Walters’s sermon from the memorial service, along with the remembrances of Travis and Mark (www.jbu.edu/alumni).

Cost of a JBU education:

We are told, “Let your light so shine before men that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven.” Surely, Dr. Gilbert inspired many to glorify our Father. ■

Jerry Rollene ’75

Quite a bit

Gratitude to those who gave to the JBU Scholarship Fund to make this moment possible:

PRICELESS

Director of Alumni and Parent Relations 24 Brown Bulletin Summer 2006

To help students afford a quality Christian education at JBU, there’s the JBU Scholarship Fund.

For more information, or to give online, visit www.jbu.edu/giving or call (800) 446-2450.

Brown Bulletin Summer 2006 25

In order to protect the privacy of JBU alumni and prevent the misuse of personal information on the Internet, we have deleted the alumni news from this online edition.

In order to protect the privacy of JBU alumni and prevent the misuse of personal information on the Internet, we have deleted the alumni news from this online edition.

Do you love being on the inside track?

Do you enjoy creating effective ways to help your classmates stay in touch?

Would you like to join other alumni staying actively engaged in the ongoing life of JBU?

If so,

you should consider being a part of the JBU Alumni Board!

Contact Shawn Toenyes, board president (s_toenyes@yahoo.com), or Jerry Rollene (jrollene@jbu.edu) right away, and we can talk more about what it means to serve on this dynamic board with people who experienced JBU throughout the decades.

26 Brown Bulletin Summer 2006

Brown Bulletin Summer 2006 27

In order to protect the privacy of JBU alumni and prevent the misuse of personal information on the Internet, we have deleted the alumni news from this online edition.

In order to protect the privacy of JBU alumni and prevent the misuse of personal information on the Internet, we have deleted the alumni news from this online edition.

Transitions Class of 1996 10 Year Reunion Homecoming 2006 October 6-7 You’re Always Home at JBU! 28 Brown Bulletin Summer 2006

Dr. Lisa Brandom is retiring this year from JBU after 18 years of dedicated service to the university and the English department.

Brandom served as adjunct English instructor, associate professor of English, registrar, associate dean for institutional research, associate academic dean, and chair of the English department. She graduated in 1969 from the University of Mississippi with a degree in English and social studies and continued there to earn her M.Ed. in secondary English education. Brandom earned her Ed.D. in higher education with an emphasis in administration and English. While working at JBU, Brandom played an essential role in starting many programs, including the Army ROTC program and online registration.

In 2004, Brandom founded Moon Lake Publishing Company to help first-time writers find an opportunity to be published.

Dr. Robert Burns retired this year after serving JBU for 31 years. Burns served JBU as professor of education and physical education for 31 years, division chair of health and physical education for 27 years, and director of athletics for 25 years. He is a twotime NAIA Region VI Athletics Director of the Year recipient. Burns successfully laid the foundation for the establishment of gender equality throughout the athletics program with the addition of many of the women’s programs. He also served as the NAIA region VI chair for six years and was a founding member of the taskforce that developed and implemented the NAIA Champions of Character program.

Dr. Delia Haak is retiring after 21 years of service. She most recently served as associate professor of business, teaching in both the undergraduate and graduate programs.

During her service at JBU, Haak helped design the programs for the M.S. in leadership and ethics and the MBA with an emphasis in leadership and ethics. Haak has been a recipient of JBU’s Golden Eagle Service Award, the Outstanding Alumnus Award, and the Outstanding Faculty Teaching Award.

Haak received her bachelor’s degree from JBU and her MBA and Ed.D. from the University of Arkansas. Haak has served in the global ethics office of Wal-Mart, Inc., as an adjunct professor for Trinity Western University, as a member of the Arkansas Governor’s Taskforce for Workforce Development, in the White House Conference on Small Business, and as chaplain of the JBU Lady Eagles volleyball team.

Brown Bulletin Summer 2006 29

In order to protect the privacy of JBU alumni and prevent the misuse of personal information on the Internet, we have deleted the alumni news from this online edition.

30 Brown Bulletin Summer 2006

In order to protect the privacy of JBU alumni and prevent the misuse of personal information on the Internet, we have deleted the alumni news from this online edition.

Brown Bulletin Summer 2006 31

In Loving Memory

Effie Maxine (Oakes) Ambler ’39 passed away on January 29, 2006. Her husband, two older brothers, sister, two sons, and one nephew all attended JBU.

In order to protect the privacy of JBU alumni and prevent the misuse of personal information on the Internet, we have deleted the alumni news from this online edition.

Share your latest news with your alumni friends.

Submit your information to the Brown Bulletin online by visiting www.jbu.edu/alumi and clicking “online directory.”

News and photos can be submitted by U.S. mail or by e-mail, as well. e-mail: alumni@jbu.edu mail: Brown Bulletin Editor, John Brown University, 2000 West University St., Siloam Springs, AR 72761 For information about submission deadlines and policies, visit www.jbu.edu/bbnews 32 Brown Bulletin Summer 2006

Erik S. Barnett ’29 went home to be with his Lord on January 22, 2006 at the age of 95.

He was survived by his six children: Charles, Stanley, Paul, John, Elizabeth, and Carolyn.

Michael Crain ’70 passed from this world on June 29, 2005 following a car accident.

After graduating from JBU, he taught and coached in Winfield, Missouri. He was drafted by the Pittsburg Pirates in 1971, and was married to Carita Lipps after his release from the Pirates later that year. He coached and taught school for 34 years. He is survived by his wife, five children, and two grandchildren.

Dr. Marc D. Gilbert went to be with his Lord and Savior Jesus Christ on March 8, 2006, at the age of 92. Born May 19, 1913, he had been a committed Christian since age 12.

He was known in Clearwater, Kansas, as the Kansas champion speller during grade school, high school, and college. He served on the Kansas High School championship debating team and was class valedictorian.

He received a B.S. in education and a B.S. in commerce from Kansas State Teachers College in 1939. In 1940 he completed the master’s degree in law and business from the University of Denver. In 1964 he was awarded his Ed.D. from the University of Tulsa. He was a CPA and worked in the accounting field for many years.

His teaching reached from a rural school in Kansas to high schools in Kansas and graduate schools in Texas.

His primary college teaching was at JBU where he served as chair of the business and social studies departments.

In Siloam Springs, he ministered as pastor and Sunday school teacher at Nicodemus Community Church, Grace Bible Church, Norwood Church, and Siloam Springs Bible Church.

He was preceded in death by his wife of over 64 years. He is survived by his son Dean Bruce Gilbert and his wife Sharon and two grandchildren.

Kay Fowler, widow of JBU trustee emeritus Clinton Fowler ’42, passed away on April 7, 2006 in Medford, OR. She is survived by her stepdaughter Deborah (Fowler) Hess ’68.

Mary Lee (Davis Williams) Freeman ’70 passed away on April 23, 2005 in Colorado Springs, CO. She is survived by her husband Dal Freeman, two children, and two grandchildren.

Harris Gregory ’49 went to be with his Lord and Savior on February 7, 2006. He and his wife were in missionary service for 38 years, working in Brazil, the Bahamas, Miami, and Mexico.

Holmfred R. Hokanson Jr. ’62 went home to be with the Lord on March 5, 2006.

Kathryn (Spivey) Jackson ’34, went to be with the Lord on December 27, 2005. Kathryn met her husband, Robert Jackson ’35, while at JBU. She and Robert faithfully supported JBU during their 71year marriage.

Robert served on the Board of Trustees from 1937 to 1985, and Kathryn served on the parent’s council from 1954 to 1959 while their two children, Robert Jackson Jr. ’58 and Janelle (Jackson) Decker ’61 attended JBU. Kathryn, most recently of Austin, Texas, was an accomplished seamstress and was very active in church, civic, and charitable organizations. During their retirement, Kathryn and Robert traveled extensively with their Silver Streak Trailer Club.

Kathryn is survived by her husband, her son and his wife Wanda, her daughter and her husband, James Decker ’61, 10 grandchildren, 20 great-grandchildren, and one great-great grandson.

Robert “Bob” Johnson, former biblical studies faculty member, passed away on January 9, 2006. He began teaching at JBU in 1975, and he chaired JBU’s biblical studies department for nine years until his retirement in 1984. He most recently made his home in Nashville, Tennessee. He was preceded in death by his wife, Mary Elizabeth.

Ella May Mason, former art professor, passed away March 24, 2005. She taught at JBU from 1959 to 1973.

Karine (Sieffert) Melby ’92- After a strong and courageous battle of seven years with breast cancer, Karine passed away peacefully on February 23, 2006.

After graduating from JBU, Karine earned her MBA in insurance risk management from St. Thomas College in St. Paul, Minnesota while employed with the Hays Group of Minneaolis, an insurance brokerage and risk management consulting firm. Karine enjoyed consulting and extensive travel for work, pleasure, and visits to friends and family.

During her battle with cancer, Karine became increasingly aware of a great purpose to her life and the extreme value of friends, family, and faithfulness to God. Even when doctors had given up hope of her survival, Karine continued to bless others with her strong spirit and cheerful attitude. Karine is survived by her father and stepmother, her mother and stepfather, and her brother and sister-in-law, Lance Seiffert ’95 and Lisa K. Seiffert.

Linda Morris, former JBU employee, lost her battle with cancer on March 26, 2005.

Linda worked as circulation assistant from 1995 to 2000.

Elizabeth Reeves Reid ’36 passed away on February 12, 2006 at the age of 91.

Myrtie Lew Sawyer ’64 passed away on September 30, 2005.

Paul Whitmore ’47, former music department faculty member, passed away January 17, 2006. In addition to his work at JBU, he was a piano technician, church music director, and music storeowner in Siloam Springs. He is survived by his wife Viola (Walton) Whitmore ’50, their children (Eugene Whitmore ’74; Paula Phillips ’78, who works in the JBU library; Ernest Whitmore ’80, the advising coordinator at JBU; and Marcia Wallace ’85), six grandchildren, and one great-grandchild.

Brown Bulletin Summer 2006 33

7

Benefits of a JBU Charitable Gift Annuity 1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

6.

7.

ATTRACTIVE RATES. When you compare our gift annuity rates with what you might receive from a certificate of deposit you will be pleasantly surprised. (Rates between 4.7%-11.3%*.)

REGULAR PAYMENTS. When you establish your gift annuity, you decide how often you want to receive your payments (with certain restrictions).

FIXED INCOME. Your payment rate will be locked in at the time you obtain your gift annuity.

LIFETIME BENEFIT. Gift annuities are for life. And if you have a two-life gift annuity, when one person dies, the other can continue to receive the same amount for the rest of his/her life.

DEPENDABLE SOURCE. JBU stands behind each of its gift annuities. Guaranteed.

RELIEF FROM TAXES. Since part of your contribution for a gift annuity is considered a charitable gift by the IRS, you will receive an income tax deduction to apply on an itemized tax return.

SIMPLE PROCESS. We can provide you with a tailor-made illustration so you can see how it all works with your age and contribution amount included.

As we celebrate the record-setting performance of JBU senior basketball player Brandon Cole, we wanted to look back at some other star athletes in JBU sports history. These athletes earned a number of accolades, some of which are listed here.

David Stockstill ’82 Baseball • 1977 & 1978 2nd Team NAIA All-American • 16-year professional career • Part of Orioles staff since 1994 as a hitting instructor, field coordinator, farm club manager, and field coordinator • Current director of minor league operations for Major League Baseball’s Baltimore Orioles

Matt Pearson ‘85 Cross-country (shown with the track team) • 1984 NAIA All-American • 1982, 83, 84 NCCAA All-American

Leo Peirano ’01 Men’s soccer • 2000 1st Team NAIA All-American • 1999 & 2001 3rd Team NAIA All-American • Four-time All-SAC • 2000 Region and Conference Player of the Year • Holds school scoring record with 32 goals in 22 games

Interested in enjoying these benefits?

Are you at or near retirement age?

Let us give you more information.

Contact Paul J. Eldridge, Director of Development & Planned Giving

Nikki Peterson ‘95 Women’s swimming

or contact your Regional Director of Development: James Elliot Eric Greenhaw

Amber Squires ‘02 Volleyball (#9 in the photo)

call (800) 446-2450

34 Brown Bulletin Summer 2006

• 2000 3rd Team NAIA All-American • 1999 & 2001 NAIA All-American Honorable Mention • 2001 SAC MVP • Four-time All-SAC • Holds JBU record for games played and kills • 2001 JBU Champion of Character Award

* Rates will vary depending upon age and number of beneficiaries.

(shown with the swim team) • 1992-93 NAIA National Champion in 100-yard backstroke as a sophomore • 1992-93 All-American in 200-yard backstroke • 1991-92 All-American in 200-yard backstroke, 400-yard individual medley, and 500-yard freestyle

Brown Bulletin Summer 2006 35

You’re always home at jbu October 6th ~ 7th e Alumni

Homecoming 2006

Career Fair on Friday and Volleyball Games and Rugby Match d Showcase Dinner and Alumni Performances c A Sensitive Comedy by the Drama Team: “The Curious Savage” f Class of ’56 Fifty-Year Reunion as well as reunions for ’61, ’66, ’71, ’76, ’81, ’86, ’91, ’96, and ’01 a Soccer

Brown Bulletin John Brown University 2000 West University Street Siloam Springs, AR 72761