Easter 2020

EASTER 2020

THE MAGAZINE

WHO IS THE

Originally Published April 2014

WHO IS THE

Dear Friends, JONES FOTO

From the moment we first imagined the scope and reach of Olivet the Magazine, we have eagerly anticipated this issue dedicated to illuminating the person, power and presence of Jesus Christ. In his work Let’s Start with Jesus, longtime Olivet friend Dr. Dennis Kinlaw beautifully outlines the significance of Christ in the sweep of human history and in the lives of all believers.

God’s desire for intimacy with His creation became even more obvious with the appearance of Christ. The desire, expressed and implicit in the old covenant, is more fully evident in the incarnation.

God does not simply want to dwell in the temple among His people.

He takes on flesh so He can be one with us and gives us His Spirit so He can dwell within us. Now, we are to be the temple of the living God. He has become one of us so that we can become brothers and sisters to Him and sons and daughters to His Father. A sense of identification and intimacy with God, latent in the covenant before Christ came, now through Christ becomes every believer’s privilege.

As we enter into Holy Week, we once again encounter the risen Christ through these pages. May our resolve to know Him, love Him and serve Him be ever strengthened and increased. May we once again be compelled to dedicate our very best efforts to the cause of Christ and His Kingdom. As Mother Teresa once remarked, “I see Jesus in every human being. I say to myself, this is hungry Jesus, I must feed him. This is sick Jesus. This one has leprosy or gangrene; I must wash him and tend to him. I serve because I love Jesus.”

May it be so for all of us!

The Editorial Board

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INSIGHT

FROM THE PRESIDENT Taking Every Thought Captive to Christ

Since its earliest days, the motto of Olivet Nazarene University has been “Education with a Christian Purpose.” This is a direct expression of the University’s mission statement:

Nothing should be further from the truth. Christian higher education that is not demanding does not honor God and cannot stand the test of time.

Olivet Nazarene University, a denominational university in the Wesleyan tradition, exists to provide a liberal arts “Education with a Christian Purpose.” Our mission is to provide high quality academic instruction for the purpose of personal development, career and professional readiness and the preparation of individuals for lives of service to God and humanity.

If we are to have “the mind of Christ” (1 Corinthians 2:16), we must be willing to wrestle honestly with the great issues of life, knowing that all truth finds its home in God. God calls us to be transformed by the renewing of our minds, so that we can know the good, pleasing and perfect will of God. In his fine book, The Opening of the Christian Mind, David W. Gill writes, “Having a Christian mind means that in every situation, we try to think from the perspective of Jesus Christ, acknowledging Him as Lord, Savior and God. It means subordinating and integrating all truth to the truth, all facts to the fact, all values to the value revealed in Jesus Christ.”

Olivet is committed to being more than “historically Christian” or “church-related.” Our goal is to be genuinely Christ-like in our commitment to excellence in teaching, learning and service to others. For Olivet to live up to and live out its high calling means that Christ is at the heart of University life.

The goal is for Christ to take His rightful place in the classroom, chapel, residential life and sports programs; through the outreach of the School of Graduate and Continuing Studies; in the School’s business dealings; and in every other aspect of University affairs.

The integration of faith, learning and living is to be the natural pattern of life at Olivet, making it a Christ-centered, Christexalting and Christ-serving University.

The aim of Christian education is the development of the whole person for all of life. Thus, Olivet seeks to help students and faculty alike “take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ” (2 Corinthians 10:5). These words of Scripture call us to a wholehearted devotion to Christ — not just with our hearts, but also with our minds. This is what it means to seek an “Education with a Christian Purpose.”

This firm commitment does not diminish or trivialize but rather enriches the hard work of higher education. Too often, Christian higher education is viewed, at least by some, as anti-intellectual.

DR. JOHN C. BOWLING is in his 29th year as president of Olivet Nazarene University. An Olivet alumnus and Harvard University Fellow with two master’s degrees and two earned doctorates, Dr. Bowling is a bestselling author and a prominent national speaker. He is internationally recognized as an outstanding leader in higher education and the Church. His most recent book is Windows and Mirrors: Exploring the Parables of Jesus.

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He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation.

For by WHO IS THE him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things were created by him and for him. He is before all things, and in him all things hold together. And he is the head of the body, the church; he is the beginning and the firstborn from among the dead, so that in everything he might have the supremacy. For God was pleased to have all his fullness dwell in him, and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether things on earth or things in heaven, by making peace through his blood, shed on the cross.

Colossians 1:15–20 In this Easter season, we asked three friends of Olivet the Magazine to help us address this enduring question. Dr. Gary Allen Henecke presents both the man and the Christ, while Dr. David Van Heemst contemplates the compatibility of Christ in higher education. Dr. Kashama Mulamba gives his personal, compelling testimony to the limitless reach of God through Christ, His Son.

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ONE MAN AT THE CENTER OF HISTORY

Dr. Gary Allen Henecke

“Who is Jesus Christ?” This question refuses to go away. More than a dozen current books carry this title, and popular magazines annually publish issues on this question. Simple at first glance, it becomes complex if really examined.

A man of 2,000 years ago and the verb is in the present tense? My subject is correctly: “Who is Jesus?”, not “Who was He?” This man will not fade into history, nor will He stay there. He confronts every generation and each individual.

At about noon on the eve of Hebrew Passover, probably our April 3, 33 CE, the Roman prefect of Judah executed three men outside Jerusalem’s Gennath [garden] Gate — and everything changed for humanity. The death of one man is the most written about, debated upon and artistically and musically depicted event of all time. His crucifixion, the core of Christian teaching in worship and witness, is the foundation to understanding Him. Two of the victims of that governor’s judgment have slipped forever into oblivion. All that is known of them is that they were condemned and died for the crimes of thievery or terrorism. We know little more, other than the third man died first, and the guards had to assist them into death by breaking their legs. We know neither their names nor their stories.

The One crucified in the middle preserves the memory of the others. The described nature of His crime was visible to passersby.

Written simply and succinctly at the prefect’s order were words that His enemies so feared and in which His followers hope: “Jesus of Nazareth, King of the Jews.” Written above His head — in the languages of state, philosophy and the common person — this speaks of His all-inclusive, universal nature. “Jesus of Nazareth” describes a man with a history, heritage and mission. It identifies Him as a person and locates Him for all who care to know more. “King of the Jews” speaks to His being and impact.

What the label above His head does not say reveals the poverty of the governor who authored it and the blindness of those who believed His death to be an end-all. The declaration, as unwittingly inclusive as it is, declares the failure of the legal and religious processes to see the greater reality. This reality will not allow us to ignore the man: Jesus the Christ.

For 2,000 years, He has dominated the human story, shaped the nature of ethics, defined morality and survived the constant attack of new skeptics who attempt to write His obituary. Each successive human generation gives rise to a fresh number who believe Christ to be no longer relevant. They pass, and He continues.

Millions have believed and professed that hanging on the middle cross was the crucified Creator of the universe, of all that exists. Jesus of Nazareth was God on a cross. The cross is not an event that happened to Jesus; it is God revealing His very nature and being to humankind.

Who is Jesus? He is the greatest of Israel’s prophets, yes, but much more. He is the center of the Christian faith — oh, yes, and much more. He is the most significant life to have lived and much more.

Christians believe that Jesus is the Eternal, self-replicated in time. God the Creator created Himself into human life, uniting Himself to us. In this incarnation, He lifted human life to transcendent possibilities. His resurrection was not a return to life; He rose to new dimensions and new human potential for us all.

Christians hold that Jesus was and is existence, and we are His creation.

He is meaning itself. He not only taught truth, He is truth. For Olivet Nazarene University, education finds its center and purpose in Him. All else exists for Him, through Him and to Him. Simply, Jesus Christ is Lord! In that lordship, He is “Christ crucified.”

We can never know all there is of God. We only know as He reveals Himself; and for us, the revealed is Jesus. Jesus is Lord, and the question is correct: “Who is Jesus?” He is. Education, therefore, is unfulfilled until it finds its purpose in Him.

DR. GARY ALLEN HENECKE ’68 is an exceptionally gifted preacher, pastor, teacher, writer and thought leader. He has served the Church of our Lord with great distinction since he was called to preach at the age of sixteen. Converted to Christ on Epiphany Sunday in 1963, he has been a preacher for 50 years.

During this service, he held four pastorates including the historic churches of Oskaloosa, Iowa (5 years), Portland Oregon First Church (13 years) and the “Mother Church of the South,” Nashville First Church (18 years). He also served the denomination as an executive director and a member of the General Board.

A graduate of Olivet, Dr. Henecke went on to earn master of arts and doctor of divinity degrees from Western Evangelical Seminary.

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MARK BALLOGG

CHRISTIAN HIGHER EDUCATION IS TRANSFORMING THE WORLD FOR CHRIST. Dr. David Van Heemst

DR. DAVID VAN HEEMST ’96 M.P.C./’98 M.A. joined Olivet’s faculty in 1993 as the first political scientist hired in the history of Olivet. “DVH,” as he is known on campus, sponsors multiple student clubs and is the author of five books. In 2013, he received the Samuel L. Mayhugh Award for Scholarly Excellence.

In 2016, he was named Olivet’s Faculty Member of the Year. He and his wife, April (Cordes) ’94, are the parents of twins Maggie and Ellie, who are Olivet freshmen, and triplets Annika, Elizabeth and Jessica, who are in seventh grade.

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First impressions stick with you. In Daryl’s case, this isn’t a good thing. A freshman from Michigan in my American government class, Daryl got into a friendly pencil fight with another student. I met with him after class and explained that it wasn’t funny that he won the pencil fight. He agreed not to pencil fight again.

Seven years later, Daryl — armed with his Olivet degree and a law degree — was in Mexico, working to free young women and girls from human trafficking.

What happened?

Daryl got it. He immersed himself in Christian higher education and caught wind of a different way — The Way. Christian higher education captured his heart, transformed his mind and captivated his imagination.

He wanted to make a difference for Christ in the world. He asked how God might use him for His purposes in this world.

WHY CHRISTIAN HIGHER EDUCATION? Allow me to answer that question with a question: What if you could discover how God might use you to transform the world for Christ?

What if that question could shape an entire university’s curriculum? One crucial question about higher education in today’s postmodern world is: Which worldview is shaping higher education? Education is not neutral, according to many educational theorists. Some type of perspective or ideology shapes all educational inquiry.

In Christian higher education, Jesus Christ and His kingdom are preeminent. Christian faith shapes higher education. Classes begin with prayer, and the Christian faith is integrated into each discipline, from accounting to zoology.

Who you become is closely connected to the worldview that shapes your education. A biblical or some other perspective will shape the person you will be and the way you will live for decades to come.

What type of person would you like to be when you graduate? So much of the answer to that question falls upon the 18- to 22-year-olds’ shoulders.

In Christian higher education, you are nurtured — in community and with godly mentors — into becoming a disciple of Jesus who follows His Spirit into a broken and dying world.

At Olivet, you can catch a glimpse of The Way, or what Duke University ethicist Stanley Hauerwas calls the “in-breaking Kingdom of God.” You will be challenged to become a part of His reconciling work. You will join

other late teens and early twenty-somethings being shaped into young women and men who will not only see things differently in their future vocations but who will also become passionate about justice where there is no justice and healing where there is great suffering.

Christian higher education nurtures students into becoming kingdom people who ask: How can I live with open palms, seeking to share the blessings that God has given me with those who are hurting?

At its finest, Christian higher education deepens students’ insights and equips them with the skills to engage the culture for Christ. Students are challenged to be counter-cultural in so many ways and then inspired to transform the culture for Christ.

In so doing, students begin to live out of the center of God’s will for their lives.

At a Christian college, you cannot only discover your purpose, but you can also wrestle with connecting that purpose to the world’s needs.

Frederick Buechner, writer and theologian, eloquently stated, “The place God calls you to is the place where your deep gladness and the world’s deep hunger meet.”

Christian higher education prepares students to be agents of reconciliation by nurturing their hearts and minds to become salt and light in a broken and dying world. John Bernbaum, president of the Russian-American Christian University, captured this insight: “Christian higher education ought not be an effort in cocoon building, seeking to hide us from the harsh realities of the present world. Rather, Christian higher education should be an effort in raising up peace-makers, those whose task is a harvest of righteousness.”

The letters B.A. or B.S. will be attached to your name for decades to come. The experience of being saturated in a Christian environment for four years can deepen you into becoming a transforming influence in your job, a listening ear to those who are suffering and a willing servant committed to bringing God’s kingdom to this world.

Much of higher education today is dedicated to self-interest, having a good time or strategizing to monetize your skill sets. What if your education could transform you so that you could become the person God knit you together to be when you were in your mother’s womb?

Daryl found his calling at Olivet. Now, it’s your turn. Are you open to the transformative possibilities of a Christian higher education?

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CHRIST IN THE CONGO

stay, I helped with his home renovations by scraping wallpaper off the walls. During my stay there, a student from Burma invited me to Muncie First Church of the Nazarene, where Rev. Wil Watson was the senior pastor. A new episode of my story was beginning.

I began to attend Muncie First Church regularly, officially joined in 1990 and graduated from Ball State University in May 1991. As I was preparing to return to the Congo, I realized there was no Church of the Nazarene there.

Dr. Kashama Mulamba

Storytellers can spread the great news about Jesus from village to village.

Songwriters can write masterpieces that praise His faithfulness. Poets can arrange the words into rhyming stanzas that glorify His magnitude. I wish I were a storyteller, a songwriter or a poet. But, I’m not.

I’m His subject who praises Him my way, with my story. And, my story is His story — a story about divine irony and the countless ways that God uses every opportunity for His purposes, regardless of our roots.

I was born to non-Christian and illiterate parents in Africa. My father, a soldier in the Congolese army, completed only three years of elementary education. Although my mother never went to school, she knew education was important. She always reminded me, “My son, education is your father, your mother and your future.” So, I went to school and earned a college degree.

In 1985, I was awarded a Fulbright scholarship to come to the U.S. and pursue graduate work. I completed a master’s degree with a double major in linguistics and English as a Second Language. I then began a Ph.D. program in English with a concentration in applied linguistics at Ball State University. My wife and five children remained in the Congo.

In December 1988, I returned to the Congo to conduct research for my dissertation.

During this time of research, the university deposited my stipend into my bank account, and a fellow graduate assistant agreed to take care of my bills while I was away. But, my bills were never paid.

Rev. Watson and I made a trip to the denomination’s headquarters in Kansas City to meet with some superintendents and people at the Mission Department. They suggested I begin a Bible study group and that I meet with Rev. John Seaman, the field director for West Africa. Rev. Seaman happened to be on vacation in the U.S., so I met with him. He agreed that a Bible study group could pave the way for the Church to send a missionary to the Congo.

I returned to the Congo and began a Bible study, but for political reasons, it became too risky for the group to meet in my home. I decided to find an existing local church in Kinshasa, the capital city, and asked if it would adopt the doctrine and beliefs of the Church of the Nazarene as stipulated in the denomination’s “Manual.” The pastor accepted. When I left the Congo in 1993 to come back to the U.S. for a postdoctoral program at Ball State University, that local church was the only Church of the Nazarene in Kinshasa.

As I’m writing these words, there are 19 Nazarene churches and preaching points in Kinshasa and more than 300 Nazarene churches in the Congo — including 100 elementary and high schools. The current senior pastor of the church I contacted in 1991, Rev. Hermenelgilde Matungulu, is one of the district superintendents. I had the opportunity to reconnect with him at General Assembly when I volunteered to interpret for international delegates in 2009 and 2013.

There is a Latin saying, “Verba volent, Scripta manent,” meaning: “Spoken words fly and are forgotten; written words remain permanently.” I may never be as articulate as the great storytellers, songwriters and poets, but this is my story. This is His story, written on these pages and in the hearts of His followers in the Congo.

I returned to the U.S. in 1989 to find that my bank account had been emptied. I had no money, no place to live and no support. With nowhere to go, I was taken in by one of my professors. In exchange for a place to

DR. KASHAMA MULAMBA is a specialist in applied linguistics, sociolinguistics, pragmatics and culture, with emphasis on foreign and second language teaching and learning. A professor of English and French, Dr. Mulamba, who has served as the chair of the Department of English and Modern Languages, has been teaching at the college level — both in the Congo and in the United States — since 1974. Fluent in English, French, Ciluba and Lingala — and nearly fluent in Swahili and Kisonge — he is an internationally recognized scholar and has been published widely in a variety of journals and periodicals. His professional awards and honors are vast and include the 2012-2013 Fullbright Award in Research/Teaching.

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A man who was merely a man and said the sort of things Jesus said would not be a great moral teacher. He would either be a lunatic — on the level with the man who says he is a poached egg — or else he would be the Devil of Hell. You must make your choice. Either this man was, and is, the Son of God, or else a madman or something worse. You can shut him up for a fool, you can spit at him and kill him as a demon, or you can fall at his feet and call him Lord and God, but let us not come with any patronizing nonsense about his being a great human teacher. ...

Now it seems to me obvious that He was neither a lunatic nor a fiend. Consequently, however strange or terrifying or unlikely it may seem, I have to accept the view that He was and is God. A man who was merely a man and said the sort of things Jesus said would not be a great moral teacher. He would either be a lunatic — on the level with the man who says he is a poached egg — or else he would be the devil of hell. You must make your choice. Either this Man was, and is, the Son of God or else a madman or something worse. You can shut Him up for a fool, you can spit at Him and kill Him as a demon, or you can fall at His feet and call Him Lord and God, but let us not come with any patronizing nonsense about His being a great human teacher. Now, it seems to me obvious that He was neither a lunatic nor a fiend. Consequently, however strange or terrifying or unlikely it may seem, I have to accept the view that He was and is God.

- C.S. Lewis, Mere Christianity

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AMEN

BENEDICTION O Love that will not let me go, I rest my weary soul in Thee; I give Thee back the life I owe, That in Thine ocean depths its flow May richer, fuller be.

O Light that foll’west all my way, I yield my flick’ring torch to Thee; My heart restores its borrowed ray, That in Thy sunshine’s blaze its day May brighter, fairer be.

O Joy that seekest me through pain, I cannot close my heart to Thee; I trace the rainbow through the rain, And feel the promise is not vain, That morn shall tearless be.

O Cross that liftest up my head, I dare not ask to fly from Thee; I lay in dust life’s glory dead, And from the ground there blossoms red Life that shall endless be.

“O Love that will not let me go”

By George Matheson

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