WORDS MATTER By Jan Carlberg

Words matter: those written or whispered as well as those heard, read or thought.

When my Mama was a young girl, her Papa reached into the family’s emergency savings jar to draw out coins to purchase streetcar tokens. Only change made it into that small container. The emergency? My grandfather needed the fare so his daughter could go with him to hear one of the famous orators holding revival meetings in Chicago. This time it was Gypsy Smith.

As they raced to catch the streetcar, Papa preached to his audience of one.

“Margaret, you must learn to pay attention to words. There are artists who make works of art with oil and brush, but there are others who paint pictures with words. Learn to use words well.”

She did. Mama spoke to thousands and wrote 15 books after the age of sixty-five, when most folks are retiring. To her the greatest sin was sitting still. The Margaret Jensen Theatre is named in her honor. So I think of her when I sit, uncomfortably, on black boxes. Hard reminders that, by nature, I’m a wiggler.

But this is not about Mama or me. It’s about you and what you do with the words you’ll hear or use in these last days of the school year and after you’ve left Gordon to follow God’s call on your life in fresh directions. Consider these simple phrases: “ I love you,” “ please forgive me,” “thank you so much,” “I forgive you,” or “I’m listening.” Do you need to hear or speak any of these words?

When you pack up to head away from campus, think about a place for words. Hosea wrote to the children of Israel, “Take words with you, and return to the Lord. Say to Him, ‘Forgive all our sins and receive us graciously, that we may offer the fruit of our lips.’” (Hosea 14:2)

Recently we were privileged to experience the power and joy of community in the AJ Gordon chapel through WE ARE GORDON. Hopefully, being part of Gordon means that we are people of our word. We keep our commitments. We guard our speech. We use words to build not to tear down. We learn to listen, not just speak.

My grandmother completed just eight years of formal education in Norway before coming to this country to work as a maid in New York City. She was just fifteen years old. The Jewish women she worked for taught her to speak English and showed her how to use the New York Public Library. My grandmother loved to read and memorize poetry. She became wise and a life-long learner.

One day, when I was a young girl, she took me aside to teach me the power of words through a poem she’d memorized.

“Boys flying kites haul in their white winged birds
You can’t do that when you’re flying words.
Once spoken, though you wish them left unsaid,
God, Himself, can’t kill them, make them dead.”

Not the best poetry, but great wisdom. I cherish memories of sneaking peeks at my grandmother cradling her Bible...reciting, not reading page after page. It reminded me of the old prophet Jeremiah who wrote, “When your words came, I ate them; they were my joy and my heart’s delight, for I bear your name, O Lord God Almighty.” (Jeremiah 15:16)

In a short while the seniors will graduate and most of you will leave to go home or travel and work all over this country and the world. Remember the privilege and responsibility that you bear His Name and have within easy reach the Word of God. I challenge you to take words with you. Words that heal and reconcile. Words that challenge people to think. Words that infect the world you’re in with love and joy and peace. Words filled with hope. It won’t be easy but it will be easier when you remember to fill up on God’s Word.

Eugene Peterson writes in THE MESSAGE his paraphrase of Colossians 3:16 “Let the Word of Christ—the Message—have the run of the house. Give it plenty of room in your lives. Instruct one another using good common sense. And sing, sing your hearts out to God! Let every detail in your lives—words, actions, whatever—be done in the name of the Master, Jesus, thanking God the Father every step of the way.”

Words matter. God’s and yours.

CALLING & COMMUNITY By Prashan De Visser

It’s been an absolute honor and privilege to serve as the student body president through GCSA this year. I stepped into the office with very little experience with GCSA, though I had been blessed with some awesome opportunities to lead and serve the community in other ways. From the beginning, Megan Thompson and I were deeply committed to serving the community to the best of our ability, and knew that this would only be possible through the strength and grace of God. A trademark of this year’s GCSA administration was an utter dependence on God and asking Him to use our humble effort to glorify His name and bless the community. From huge undertakings such as WE ARE GORDON to dorm visits to Homecoming—all were a success purely as a result of God’s goodness to us and of our willingness to surrender it all to Him. Committing our humble effort to serve the community was not just logical, but as we can boldly testify, was the wisest thing we did all year.

We came into this year with a desire to pursue our vision of continuity, calling and community. These were the pillars of our activities and administration. Our commitment to enhance community manifested itself in programs and initiatives that ranged from GCSA weekends to Homecoming weekend to SPEAK. Our commitment to renew the desire to pursue our calling was manifested through the celebration of WE ARE GORDON and opportunities for underclassmen to interact with upper classmen in the context of events like “Bromley hosts freshmen.” By God’s grace, we were able to stick to our initial vision and use that to channel our efforts to serve the campus.

One of the most treasured experiences for me personally has been the people that we have had the honor to work with. This community is blessed with outstanding individuals who have a deep love for the Lord, incomparably proactive minds and godly attitudes towards others, without exception. This speaks volumes about the caliber and richness of our God-given community. We have never been denied when asking for help, wisdom, or support.

This year would not have been possible with out the outstanding team we have been blessed with in GCSA. Our advisor Chris Carlson blessed us throughout the year with priceless advice and wisdom. The GCSA Executive Cabinet consistently delivered the highest level of professionalism and work ethic. The class officers pulled off some of the best-attended and successful events organized in the recent past. The representatives passionately did their jobs, serving on multiple committees and giving leadership to numerous initiatives on campus. To work with such an amazing group has been the most enriching experience of my time here at Gordon.

THREE SENIORS REFLECT ON FINIISHING

Sarah Sweitzer
Chemistry

My four years at Gordon have been spent studying the sciences and dabbling in English Language and Literature long enough to attain a minor. Chemistry has been my particular passion. Beginning to understand the mechanisms constantly at work around me on a deeper-than-surface level has been one of the great blessings of my time here.
Before you get the wrong impression, I do have a personality, one that is not completely quirky; I do not wear a pocket protector, nor do I (completely) embody other cliché images of the science-minded. In fact, if I were to take you back to the beginning of my four years, you would be talking to a girl who had little to no interest in science, a girl who just wanted to make it to medical school and chose the science she found least excruciating as the route.
However, with each successive year I have grown to love and appreciate the department and the subject. We chemistry majors are few and far between at Gordon; however, it is not quantity that matters but quality. The small numbers create the opportunity to connect with one another and receive individual attention which at other schools is all too often impossible. I have consistently found the professors in the Chemistry Department to be interested in who we are as people, and not only in how much of the book we can reproduce. I hope one day the program will expand, both in terms of numbers and resources. But, mostly, what I hope is that the department never loses the close connection it has with its students.

Trevor Peterson
Economics

I was fortunate enough to have been in the last microeconomics class Dr. John Mason taught before his retirement. His focus on the poor and the need to think carefully about how we address issues of poverty attracted me to the economics major. Thinking about the two years I have spent as an economics major, I realize this is what will have the longest impact on my life. Any college can teach the analytical aspects of economics—supply and demand charts are the same everywhere—but the Economics Department here treats the discipline as more than a series of mathematical models. This spirit is best shown in the close attention Dr. Mason gave to issues surrounding poverty. Economics majors are sometimes accused of being heartless souls, but the importance of alleviating poverty and caring for the poor was impressed upon us from day one.
While poverty has not played as large of a role in most of my other classes as it did in Dr. Mason’s, one thing has remained the same: the desire not just to make a careful analysis, but also to use that analysis to engage important issues. Dr. Smith, the department chair, calls this Prudence. There are many important issues that we are faced with today, and economics has provided me a framework to examine them and how best to address them.

Christen Byrd
Education & Math

There are few teachers in this life as effective as experience. The journey of an education major is really an escort into the world of responsibility and into the understanding of what it means to pour into the upcoming generation. From the early classes on education theory to the final experience of student teaching, we are presented with the first long-term decisions about who we want to be as adults. We all have ideals about which person we will never be like or about something a teacher said to us that we will never repeat. We all form an ideal of who we want to be in that ever-elusive future. To those desires, the Education Department of Gordon College has said (without so many words), “Here is your chance. Find out if your idealism for the future can meet your reality in the present.”
I am delighted to say that, as I await graduation, I have already spent time forming, very specifically, who I will be in this world. I set my goals and my ideals (in theory); and with hard work, fantastic guidance, and a lot of refining, my ideals have become (and are becoming) my reality. Whether through the successful (or comical) moments of student teaching or the tearful nights of self-reflection, I have been refined and prepared for this new season that is now just around the corner. Thank you, Gordon College, it has been it has been an unforgettable journey.

In the Midst of Storms By Jeren Lanoue 08

“Take courage! It is I.” Matthew 14:27 (TNIV)

As we face the end of the year, it becomes increasingly easy to be like the disciples in this passage and focus on the storms around us. We battle the academic, athletic, or monetary storms that challenge us every day. However, it is important that we take courage and truly realize that we have been called to this juncture in life and that while the studying may be grueling, the competition stiff, and the job search dejecting, Christ is producing the ultimate achievement in us, character.

The storm itself should not warrant our attention nor should it stop us from seeing our goal: the face of Christ. Oswald Chambers says that God’s desire is for us to “see Him walking across the sea with no shore, no success, no goal in sight, but simply having the absolute certainty that everything is alright because [we] see Him walking across the sea.” Florence Chadwick, a famous swimmer of the 1950’s, stopped only one mile short in her attempt to cross a 26-mile stretch from Catalina Island to the shore of California because the fog was so thick that she could not see her goal. It took waiting two months, a clearer sky, and a second attempt to accomplish her goal.

Christ doesn’t promise clear skies, but what he does say is that He will strengthen us in the midst of storms.

Doubt Much? By Meg Lynch 10

I have noticed a trend in myself, and with other people at Gordon. In fact, I would say it is a common theme with many college-age students who have “grown-up” in a Christian home. Tell me if this sounds familiar: a kid lives in a comfortably-Christian home, grows up listening to Bible-stories, and goes off to college. There, he realizes that he can actually choose whether or not to attend church, begins to doubt the faith he has blindly believed since 1^st grade, and takes a step back. I’m not saying he turns and runs but that he begins to use his collegiately-crafted mind to wonder about these so-called truths.

Are doubts and questions an indication of weak Christianity? I don’t think so. A certain degree of questioning is necessary to achieve a personal faith—a faith that does not rest on the beliefs of those around us. “Does God truly answer prayer?” “Why would He allow so much pain?” “Is the risk of believing in something I’m not even sure of worthwhile and good?” These are all valid questions. If you have never wondered anything like this before, then I am incredibly jealous of you; you have been blessed with a trusting and steadfast spirit. For the rest of us, what does it all mean?

In my own life, there have been times when I’ve been frustrated by my doubts, and wondered why I couldn’t just believe. However, what is believing if there is nothing to question? God knows we don’t have it all together. Let’s just take a moment to stop and acknowledge that we never will. But that doesn’t mean we don’t or shouldn’t try.

One of the biggest problems with Christians our age is that we forget to try. We take the step back to evaluate our faith, but forget to follow-through. If you can sympathize with the questioning I have described, I urge you not to become so comfortable in your searching state that you cease to search. Ask the hard questions. But ask them with an open, willing heart and mind. Questioning God with a cynical heart will not produce answers.

The step back many of us take upon coming to Gordon is probably very healthy in order for any true spiritual growth to take place. However, I think there are variations of this stepping back that impede spiritual growth. While it is important for us to use our minds to question what has been preached, to discover a real faith, we must recognize that this has dire consequences if no actual effort towards a discovery is made.

Crazy by Colby Smidt 09

Three guys. One decrepit ‘91 Honda Civic. 9,000 miles. 14 days. This past summer, two of my younger brothers and I left New York for vacation in Michigan, then continued to San Diego, east to Virginia, and home to West Point. It was a blast. We beheld the Grand Canyon, hiked Half Dome in Yosemite, rafted in Colorado, and chilled at beaches on both coasts.

Tyler, Baker, and I spent most of the summer renovating a house—hard, dirty work, decent money, and great bonding. We knew a trip over the last weeks of break would complement the aching drudgery of digging out a basement floor. The job wasn’t actually miserable. In fact, shared sweat enabled laughter and learning. But there was something incredibly exciting about the idea of exploration, just the three of us cruising across the country. The roadtrip delivered a new self-made challenge of independence, discomfort, and adventure…plus more sweat and laughter.

The roadtrip stands for all the things we dream about and plan together. It fulfilled longings and aspirations. Instead of just talking and thinking about something, we did it. Now, we have a precedent. One dreamed-up adventure became a reality, so perhaps other ambitions can follow suit. Is this an overly romantic outlook? Perhaps. But that doesn’t make it any less valuable. This was a celebration of challenge, community, and love. Here’s my advice: insert something extraordinary into your life. Avoid the predictable “learn-earn-yearn” path through high school, college, grad school, internship, job, family, money-making, retirement, and The End. We plot our lives along paths paved with counterfeit securities that are a luxury afforded by our affluence. We must keep growing. Some script-defying adventure may be at once frightening and still vital to being and becoming our best. What’s stopping you? If you’re graduating with a dormant dream to do something crazy, do it. If there’s a lingering desire to backpack across Europe, hike the Appalachian Trail, or live in Africa, go. Now. There will be no better, more fitting time. College summers and that period after graduation are ideal. Live your dreams rather regret your over calculation.

Embrace challenge, identify and confront fear, and choose healthy aspirations even if they don’t fit a clear-cut career plan. At least once, we did. It meant so much that Tyler and I are going cross-country again this summer—on a tandem bicycle.

Gordon Senior Becomes Involved in Work to Aid Abused Women By Margaret Terp 08

Did you know that 28% of high school and college students experience dating violence? Or, did you know that 1 out of 3 women worldwide have been victims of some kind of abuse during their lifetime? What about that violence against women occurs in 20% of dating couples? I didn’t.

Maybe it’s a result of watching all together too many episodes of Cops with my father. I assumed that abuse only entailed Johnny Redneck beating his bride black and blue.

According to Salem-based group, Help for Abused Women and Children (HAWC) domestic abuse is a “system of coercive behavior used by adults or adolescents to establish and maintain power and control over a particular family member.” Abuse could be a boyfriend constantly yelling at his girlfriend or the possessive girlfriend coercing her boyfriend into only spending time with her.

Jasmine Houlette, a senior social work and sociology double major, has worked at HAWC this semester as her final practicum. HAWC provides a variety of services for abused women and children, from advocacy in court, one-on-one counseling and support groups to the shelter run by the organization for women in crisis. HAWC also educates the community about domestic violence and even runs a consignment store, Rerun, on Rantoul Street in Beverly to help fund its efforts.

Houlette has been involved in a little bit of everything during her practicum with HAWC. However, her time with HAWC meant more than completing academic requirements. “Domestic violence affects everyone,” Houlette said. Through working with abused women she has learned many life lessons. For instance, Houlette mentioned facilitating a support group in which she was inspired by watching women start taking control of their lives and end the feelings of isolation associated with their abusive relationships.

Houlette organized the first Gordon team to participate in the annual Walk for HAWC. Eight Gordon students raised $350 while participating with 1200 other walkers on April 27^th. HAWC has raised over $160,000 from the walk.

Houlette hopes Gordon students continue to become educated about abuse and how it affects everyone. To learn more, check out www.helpabusedwomen.org.

A Visiting Scholar’s Thoughts By Abigail Geer 08

This year, Gordon has hosted one of the country’s leading scholars on Adam Smith, Dr. Jeffrey Young, visiting scholar in the Economics Department. He has been on sabbatical from St. Lawrence University in upstate New York and chose to spend that time at Gordon for several reasons, among them his desire to be close to family and to experience teaching at a Christian college. While continuing his research of Adam Smith, Young taught a class in environmental economics during the fall semester, and gave a series of lectures about Smith during spring semester. When asked what he has enjoyed about his time at Gordon, Young stated that he has “enjoyed the students I have had the opportunity to work with as well as the time to work on my own research projects and interact with the Economics and Business faculty.” He says that the most striking difference he has observed between St. Lawrence and Gordon is the Christian environment. He states that he “really enjoyed being able to discuss matters of faith and share testimonies with the students in the class I taught last fall semester.” He goes on to say he has “enjoyed the time and believe[s] that Gordon is a wonderful place to be a student and to teach.”

Light Adjustments by Mat Schetne 08

I can’t sleep until noon.
There is no reason, other than
it is impossible. Life is born at
dawn. “Let there be light”
said God.
My inner Adam obeys,
everyday. Everyday Genesis 1, 2, 3
is played. The light is good. I am created.
Her shadows are long. I am loved.
I love. The light is brighter.
I betray.
I am indifferent. I am naked.
The light is blinding. I thought it was good.
I clothe, exit Eden,
the world considers me, under that light.
They like me. I stand on my shadow.
Everyone likes me, shadow smothered under shoe.
But they don’t know me, they sleep
right through me.
I am dead before 11,
and they sleep till noon.

Maundy Thursday by Lindsay Locke 10

I looked over the edge of the civilized, explainable world,
And I saw that people were lonely, even here.
A prisoner in the Gulag, a vicious echoing steppe:
A human nightmare found in novels—fantasy.
Then I saw that people come so finite, so few
only so many on the planet at all.
And even less that really know.
That really know a face—it’s easy to come to the end of that number.
I saw over the edge of the mountain, where isolation levels the ground under a big, big sky.
After apologizing shamefacedly
To all those depressed poets
I had laughed at all those years,
I fled, terrified, from the dark mystery of loneliness.
On earth, not a soul under heaven?
To be man forsaken— I asked the dust, who couldn’t be bothered.
…and we’re sorry, we apologize under our breath,
That when you were sweating blood under a lonely heaven
And praying your tired prayer into your own ground
We were sleeping and dreaming, proudly, you should NEVER have nobody...
…my God, my God—

April Fools by Darcy Halstead 11

in the fickle kiss of my lids,
in the hairline fracture of
a sloppy second,
once the calculating alphabet
of heaving, gritty sounds
passed through you (their
trembling utterance
pouring so kettle hot
my heart could only blister,
sputter-dazed and swollen),
in the briefest of
pendulum journeys,
at the hastiest of paces,
the remembering cupboards
of my mind were
robbed -
quick theft
by your thief tongue (the very
laughable warm
organ that lapped
milk lies my way)
so now,
i can't recall
a single moment
of your tenderness.

Overheard at Gordon

Overheard at Gordon is a new humor column formed by YOUR submissions. Overhear something funny in Lane? On the sidewalk? Send them in! voxpop@gordon (please, no names of persons overheard.)

Sarah said, "God has brought me laughter, and everyone who hears about this will laugh with me." Genesis 21:6

The following quotes have had eaves shamelessly dropped on them.

You Know God Loves You When…

Walking up the Hill

Girl 1: (talking about her great day) “...and on top of all that, I got a hill spot!”

Girl 2: “…which is the first sign of Christ’s love, after the cross!”

No Free Lunch

In Frost Lobby

Professor 1: “Hey, how're you? Headed out to lunch?”
Prof. 2: “Yeah, I think I'm going to head over to Lane.”
Prof. 1: “You should just find a student, they have lots of extra points!”
Prof .2: “What?”
Prof .1: “Meal points. They have lots of extra meal points! Try it!”

It’s All Relative

Outside, during Lent

Guy 1 to Guy 2: “You want ME to feel bad for YOU when I can't play guitar hero for 40 days and you have to play on a smaller TV in a different room?!”

I think I’m Good

In Frost

Professor 1: “How are you?”

Prof. 2: “Good, I think... “

Prof 1: “‘I think therefore I am,’ right?”

Prof 2: “That's right. Only I don't think it works with being good... ‘I think I'm good, therefore I am good...’”

Top Ten People We’d Like to Thank

10 God the Father (and the Son, the Holy Spirit, the 12 Apostles, the fathers of the Church, AJ Gordon…)

9 The counseling center

8 Ken Olsen for building a sweet science center

7 Dan Tymann, for pretty much rocking

6 Whoever put the coffee machine in the library—genius!

5 Terry Charek for being totally cool

4 Jonathan Crawford and the SVC staff for making our late nights a latté better

3 Academic support center, for supplying free snacks during finals

2 Dr. Andrea Frankwitz—how do we even begin? She’s amazing.

1 Our readers—we wouldn’t be here without you

THANK YOU & see you in the fall!

DYSFUNCTIONAL FAMILY By Sarah Grimes 10

God gave me an amazing gift when He allowed me to participate in and witness the message of the recent Men’s/Women’s Ministry Symposium Event, Brothers and Sisters in Christ: Reconciling our Dysfunctional Family. The experience made me sit up and take notice of how I treat my brothers in Christ and forced me to re-evaluate how I relate to people. More than that, though, it has prompted me to think about the ways in which our relationships are dysfunctional, and how they might be repaired. How often do we actually examine our motives in our friendships or dating relationships? Do we have a genuine interest in the other person’s well-being, or are we involved with him or her because we can get something in return or boost our own self-esteem?

It is apparent that there are many divisions between humans that exist because of the sin that has stained this world for so long. It was never God’s intention that we should be divided by misunderstandings of one another, that there should be thick walls of dishonesty, pride, and mistrust keeping us apart. God designed us to be in harmony with Creation, with the plant and animal kingdoms as well as in relationship with other humans: male, female, rich, poor, young, old, Eastern, Western, and everything in between.

It breaks my heart that we’ve lost part of what we were made to be—a united people attuned to one another’s hopes and needs and committed to worshipping the Lord together all the days of our lives—as a result of those divisions. Yet lately I’ve been stirred by this idea: maybe what’s lost can be found again. We may never experience the fullest reconciliation of our relationships until we reach Heaven, but there is hope for us now. Christ and his example are the targets to aim for, our sign post, the perfect model of how we ought to be treating our fellow believers.

During His ministry on earth, Jesus laid aside prejudices by walking with those labeled “losers” by society. He broke the traditional mold by being in relationship with the marginalized, the weak and suffering, and the despised, using their meekness for His glory. Every so often in a stranger’s kind word or a friend’s selfless sacrifice I’ll catch a glimpse into the window of eternity and what this amazing unity between believers will someday look like.

What does reconciling our dysfunctional human family look like on a daily basis? We must learn to see each other the way God does, adopting a view of others as children of God so precious and so loved that Christ would die for them. Looking past outward appearance and social status—things that fade—we will find souls just like us crying out for love and friendship. While reconciliation isn’t simple, the first, and most important step, is seeing God and others as more important than ourselves, and then treating others with the respect that every member of God’s family equally deserves.

FRESHMAN FOUNDS NGO by Maggie Terp 08

While recently attending the 2008 Lobby Days for Northern Uganda in Washington, DC with Invisible Children and Resolve Uganda, freshman political studies major Wesley Carter met Northeastern students Kay Beach and Amy Scheffler and Emerson College student Steph Costa. Little did the four students know that their relationship as fellow group members at the conference would evolve into co-founders of the NGO One Beat. However, when Carter returned to Gordon from the conference he was soon in contact with Beach, who was organizing a benefit concert at Northeastern. The four students began planning the concert together, but realizing their own potential, the group abandoned the plans for the concert in exchange for a different goal: the creation of the social justice group One Beat.

One Beat’s goal is to create a support system for social justice groups in the Boston area. Carter expressed that “Even if someone is working with Invisible Children, a huge organization, they can still feel very alone if they, or only a very small group in their community or school, is trying to make an impact. We realize that this can be very discouraging and disheartening.” Thus Carter and his fellow students created One Beat to help groups and individuals find the support they need in the community and “not only encourage them to keep fighting, but provide them with greater resources to make the change they wish to see in the world.” One Beat is about making connections.

Currently the group is involved predominantly in the peace process and reconstruction in Northern Uganda, but their long-term goals are nothing short of ambitious. While they have made contact with several social justice groups in the Boston area, the group hopes to help people be connected not only to national and international efforts, but within their own cities so they are supported within a smaller community. The group is working to become a 501c3 nonprofit and hopes that in the future One Beat will not just be One Beat Boston, but a One Beat Houston, One Beat New York City, etc.

Are you interested in being involved? One Beat is currently hoping to assist the homeless ministry to connect with the Haley House in Boston and Advocates for a Sustainable Future to learn how to compost leftovers from Lane by connecting them with a similar, successful program at Northeastern. Carter invites anyone who is interested in becoming involved with One Beat to get in touch with him. He can be reached at wesley.carter@gordon.edu

I AM A SOUTHERNER by Paul Miller 08

I am a Southerner.
I am from the Deep South. If you order tea at a restaurant and have to request it unsweetened, you are in the Deep South. If your waitress speaks to you with more concern and compassion than your Aunt Mildred, you’re there. The Deep South is not found in Maryland, Delaware, Virginia, most of Florida, the city of Charlotte, North Carolina or the suburbs of Atlanta, Georgia. Some then ask, “Where is it?” My instinct is to say that you can smell it in the air, see it in the people, feel it when you are there, but I know that is not all helpful. All I can say is that within me, there is a resonance with a place, a concept, a collective identity that few who exist outside of it know well.

Regardless of what Forrest Gump showed you, I am like you. I did grow up wearing shoes. I have never considered marrying a cousin, though I do have a couple pretty ones. I love my momma but not any more than any momma should be loved. I and the stock I am from are not simple-minded. We may not be able to conjugate Portuguese irregular verbs or tell you much about quantum mechanics, but that does not mean we are stupid or rely on “folksy” ideas. I use colorful phrases not to be cute or because “that’s what my momma always said,” but because if you are going to talk, you might as well make what you say memorable. Southern accents and vocabulary may be a bit strange to your ears, but maybe it’s your hearing that is the problem and not our way of speaking.

I do not drive a truck. I only watch the Superbowl for the commercials. My idea of a good time has little to do with a recent rain, mud tires, and an open field. I do not think that if everyone owned a gun, the world would be a better place; nor is someone’s right to do whatever they want with their land their birthright. I don’t go hunting. I don’t think that a woman’s place is in the kitchen because I quite enjoy being there. Yet, who I am is not opposed to my identity as a son of the South. Our best writers are those who are most like us and also most different. Our social activists often represent the best of who we are and our most colorful politicians are those we sometimes would most like to forget. They are united by a place and in an idea that is greater than any notion of those outside of it. I am a Southerner that recognizes that being Southern is more than just fulfilling someone’s stereotype.

Gump was right in one thing, we love food, ’specially food with a story. From roadside stands and city squares to backyard gardens and unattended tables in someone’s front yard, it’s not just about the food but what comes with it. “I only tend my garden in the moonlight,” “…won a local pie bake-off with those peaches,” “…got those tomato plants from my grandpa’s garden when he passed on.” With every purchase comes a story. Most gatherings in the Deep South are simply an excuse to talk and eat. Funerals and weddings are always so. Yes, Southerners love their food and just about anybody they run into who is willing to sit a spell and listen. It seems I get it “honest,” or for those unfamiliar with the local tongue, I am the same way.

Every Southern family and every Southern town has that person that on our best day, we would wish not to claim; however, they are just as part of us as we are part of them. I rest in that fact. Beyond the food I eat at dinner, the sports I don’t watch on TV, and the deer I will never kill, I am Southern through and through. ◊

ALL THINGS By Michael Ingram 08

I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.”

- Philippians 4:13 (NKJV)

I have learned a great deal by meditating on the context surrounding this favorite (mis)quote from one of Paul’s prison letters. In verse 11 we read, “For I have learned in whatever state I am, to be content.” The word content sometimes makes me think of sitting in a waiting room with my hands folded in my lap, but let’s substitute the word satisfied for content. “I have learned in whatever state I am, to be satisfied.” Think of reclining by the fire with a good book after a second helping of your favorite meal, or watching a sunset on the beach with your significant other, or cradling a newborn baby. Can you conjure up that feeling of utter satisfaction, of undisturbed rest and delight? That’s what Paul is talking about. He says, “Reclining by the fire or reclining in the stocks, I am satisfied. Resting under a sunset or wandering the earth like a nomad, I am satisfied. Experiencing the wonder of a newborn infant or fleeing by night in a basket, I am satisfied.”

Imagine feeling the exact same satisfaction in every circumstance of life. Just think about that for a minute. Paul experienced far greater things than most of us. He says so himself in verse 12: “I know how to abound.” In other words, “I know what it’s like to ascend into the third heaven and hear the audible voice of the Lord and see the unapproachable light. Believe me—I know how to abound.” And he also experienced far worse things than most of us. He reminds his readers, “I know how to be abased as well.” When you see that word abased, think facedown in the dirt with people trampling you underfoot. He is saying, “I’ve been initiated into the mud-faced life, and I’m learning it by heart.” This man knows suffering inside and out, yet he says, “I am satisfied in prison just like I’m satisfied in the third heaven.” What a state of being!

Then we read, “Everywhere,” at home or in a basket, lying on a bed or lying under a pile of bloody stones, “everywhere and in all things”—catch that phrase—“in all things I have learned both to be full and to be hungry, both to abound and to suffer need.” And now the final puzzle piece: “I can do all things”—catch that—“all things through Christ who strengthens me.” Do you see it now? This verse has little to do with money or job or stuff or half court shots; it has everything to do with suffering. Paul is saying, “Through Christ who strengthens me, who continuously infuses me with His own power as if through an IV unit, I am enabled to
suffer all things as He did, to live the mud-faced life and be homeless and despised much of the time with the same inner satisfaction that I experience in my most ecstatic moments.” Doesn’t that make beautiful sense? Honestly, unbelievers can abound and be satisfied for a time without the strength of Christ. All it takes is a job promotion, a Christmas bonus, a healthy baby, a healthy tax return, a cloudless sky. But it takes a truly other-worldly might to carry your satisfaction with you—just like Paul—into seasons of shadow and aloneness and pain. That is something the world simply cannot do without the strength of Christ.

You probably have this Scripture verse filed away in your brain already, but don’t pull it up anymore when you feel like asking God for a million bucks or a miraculous home run. Instead, cling to these words—and to the weather-proof satisfaction of Christ—when you find yourself in the school of abasement. ◊

PRODIGAL SON By Dave Kelly 08

I'm sure you've heard the story about the Prodigal Son. Whether you grew up going to church or not, you've heard the tale of the wayward youth who took his inheritance, left home, and began leading a life of self-gratifying behavior, went broke, returned home, and was welcomed with open arms by his father.

Now, if you've read the story carefully, you'll recognize a third character in the story: the older son. This son stuck by the father through thick and thin. He worked the farm with everyone else just as he was supposed to, and never turned his back on good ol' Dad.

Without tooting my own horn too much, I'll admit that I've been a Christian my whole life, and a pretty good kid at that. But that's not to say I haven't sinned. I've told a few lies. Okay. I've told a lot of them. I've lost my temper. I've neglected to treat other people with the dignity and respect that are befitting the image of God. But when you compare that to being a Christian my whole life, it never seemed like anything. I empathized with that older brother! It wasn't fair! He was obedient his whole life, and he got no extra reward for it. For years, this never made any sense, and I struggled with the story because of it. Then I had a professor explain this to me:

The idea of Grace made me uncomfortable.

I know. It sounds really stupid. But it's true. You see, we understand justice. We grow up being taught justice. But grace? Grace changes everything.

Grace, to our human understanding, makes absolutely no sense whatsoever. We like knowing that we are going to be forgiven for all the mistakes we've made and will make. It's the fact that God forgives everyone else too that makes us uncomfortable.

They hurt us. They need to be punished for it, and God is just going to forgive them for it?

It wasn't until college that I realized an important truth: even though I thought I was

the older son, I wasn’t. Nobody's the older son. We're all the Prodigal Son, and to consider ourselves any different is utter foolishness and arrogance on our part. To assume that our depravity does not run as deep because we sit in a pew on Sunday or sing a few praise and worship songs at a youth rally on Friday night is wrong. Thinking this way underestimates the twistedness and corruption of sin, and underestimating sin sells short the redemptive nature and miracle that is the Death and Resurrection of Christ. Have you ever thought about how evil sin is? Sin is so evil and so powerful, it took death on a cross by God himself in order to purify us and make us holy so that we could spend eternity with him.

The story isn’t even about us—it’s not about the sons at all. The story is about the father. What the younger son did is of little consequence. The fact is he left. He walked away. He high-tailed it out of there. The only reason the story tells anything of what he did on his self-exile is to highlight the grace of the father. The story isn't about the shame of the son; it's about how the shame of the son cannot stand up to the awesome power of the love of the Father. ◊

REC-IM ADDS NEW LEAGUE by Josh Vanada 08

As you may have noticed as you have passed by Ferrin, there is a new Ultimate Frisbee league on campus. Games take place from 5-7 p.m. on the Ferrin Field. Individuals from every hall affiliation are taking part in the first-year league.

The league was formed in response to last year’s REC-IM survey. As the REC-IM staff reviewed the results of the survey, it was clear that students were in agreement that Ultimate Frisbee was a necessary sport for REC-IM to host. After consultation with the incoming staff, REC-IM felt that it would in fact enhance the program here on campus. Though REC-IM usually first incorporates a new event as a tournament, it was unanimously decided that due to the demand from students, it would be best if it were immediately turned into a league. There was no surprise to the REC-IM staff, then, when the league attracted 15 teams.

The league opened on April 7, and teams will continue regular season play until Thursday, May 1. The following week, all of those teams qualifying for playoffs will make their run at the championship, an event tentatively scheduled for May 8.

Indoor Soccer along with Ultimate Frisbee are the two main events currently being hosted by REC-IM. For all of the latest information on REC-IM, stay tuned to the REC-IM website, http://www.gordon.edu/intramurals. ◊

ON RETREATS, LEADERSHIP AND LEADERSHIP RETREATS By Joe Guidi 09

Recently, the 21^st annual Gordon College LEAD conference was held at Brookwoods Conference Center in Alton, NH. Those not involved in the leadership of a club, organization or ministry on campus may not have a clear picture of what LEAD is, or why Gordon College requests the presence of next year’s campus leaders at the conference.

LEAD is, at heart, a time set aside for fellowship, sharing vision, and developing skills and philosophies that will be important to our community as a whole next year. This year, as GCSA Executive President, I was the one expected to lay out the vision for campus leaders for next year, with the help of the Executive Cabinet.

The opportunity to speak with campus leaders, both to share our vision with them and to get their feedback, was an invaluable opportunity, helping to set the stage for a year we hope will be marked by cooperation and unity, both among students, and between students and the administration.

In our campaign, James Williams and I focused on stewardship of student funds. Our vision is about more than just careful administration of the budget. It is about coming alongside organizations to help them be successful, being accessible to the campus, integrating organizations to work toward shared goals, and helping students take ownership of their Gordon experience. From my perspective, LEAD has been a first and crucial step to seeing this vision realized.

Finding a time and space where the college leadership can join together for the sake of community development and unification is a difficult, but necessary task, and we are thankful to all those who have poured their energy into LEAD over the past year in order that it would be a fruitful experience.

SIMPLE ACTION by Jeff Boucher

It was a simple action.
I picked up the apple hiding behind
semi-see-through bags everyone can get
at the grocery. My other hand pulled out
a metallic table knife for spreading
peanut butter; this time it is crunchy
(though I prefer it smooth). The lid spins with
ease and the knife stabs the viscous substance.
Brown and lumpy, it spreads on the surface
of the apple. I laid it on too thick,
as evidenced by the remnants upon
my lips. After the loud crunch of my teeth
searing through the skin of a ripe Fuji,
I always loved them. Something in the name
suggested Asia and White-Man’s obsession
with what he thought exotic. My own
obsession mirrored in colonials
out for exploitation. A desire
to rend you of all resources and in
that way make you mine, but in the end I
am the one left desolate and hungry,
a fact incurable from this apple.
Chewed to the core, I find no resting place
from the nourishing, bitten guilt.

WOMAN CAUGHT IN ADULTERY by Suzanne Loughry

Give me cruel stipulations,

                 but listen to my defense!

my guilt – their suspicion – until

                 the grins of wicked men pinned

your sin

                 on me.

My will meant nothing – your tricks

                 tore my purity from my form

                 as lions rip skin off their prey.

They interrupted, caught me in shame,

                 lit a fire at midnight

                 to sit in a circle,

 mock my shivering,

 and judge:  kill her.

I want to live!  But you did not care.

 The test they devised would condemn

 my sinful life

 and an innocent – 

your trick kiss is catching a man

 kinder than you,

 but I am afraid:

Will he save himself or me?

SHIVER by Suzanne Loughry

I watch the ice creeping

                 across my path

and laugh at the wind’s 

                 taunting breath.

I am armored against

                 the cold,

cautious and ready

                 for the harshest blast.

Odd glances darting past me

                 as I walk

slip through my unconscious

                 as through a sieve.

I grin at the hidden sun,

                 warm in my cocoon,

unbothered by strangers

 or grey skies.

Then I am caught by two eyes  

 watching me tenderly,

and all my layered preparations

 peel away,

and I 

 shiver.

Top 10 Things Not to Say on a Blind Date by Nate Harrison 09

10. Do you have any cash on you?

9. My parents should be here in 10 minutes.

8. I must be at the wrong Starbucks.

7. I have to go. I have another date in 20 minutes

6. I'm excited about trying more blind dates.

5. U-G-L-Y.

4. We're going to have the cutest kids on the block!

3. I'm sorry, in Europe we kiss to say hello.

2. I love silver and my ring size is 4.5.

1. Am I on Punk'd?

OVERHEARD AT GORDON

Overheard at Gordon is a new humor column formed by YOUR submissions. Overhear something funny in Lane? On the sidewalk? Send them in! voxpop@gordon (please, no names of persons overheard.)

Sarah said, "God has brought me laughter, and everyone who hears about this will laugh with me." Genesis 21:6

The following quotes have had eaves shamelessly dropped on them.

Girl's got issues
Girl 1: Shouts across lane: I love you!
Girls 2: Shouts back: I love you to!
Girl 1: does that cause psychological issues?

Wetting the bed on the sunny side

Guy 1: he spilled coffee on me

Girl 1: what?

Guy 1: while I was sleeping, he spilled coffee on me. And it kind of woke me up, and I asked him what was going on but he said to go back to sleep so I did and it soaked into my sheets. I’m too lazy to wash them.

Can I get a bulk discount if I buy all 30?

(Back of Lane)

Guy 1: I don’t understand why they can’t sell chapel credit.

Guy 2: $30 and I am done.

Guy 1: I would sell it for more than that. Like “$300 for a chapel credit.”

Guy 2: Did you get extra chapel credit last semester?

Guy 1: No I missed it by 5.

Go Get Your Lead On.

(Walking down the hill)

Guy 1: Where are you going?

Guy 2: Lead conference.

Guy 1: Ohhhhh! So you gonna go LEAD some people huh? Well have fun “LEADING.” Go get your LEAD on. LEAD those people.

Guy 2: Well…uh, yeah… thanks… I will.

NO PLACE LIKE HOME By Andrew Piercey '10

Gordon College’s Homeless Ministry recently endeavored to understand homelessness in a new way and to raise the Gordon Community’s awareness of homeless people’s experiences and lives. On the weekend of April 4th-6th they held a poverty and homelessness awareness weekend during which students lived on the steps of A.J. Chapel. Andrew Piercey, class of 2010, was one of the participants amongst other Gordonites: Rebecca Horner, Joe Durfey, Peter Yochim, Elizabeth Andrews, Angela Witmore, Savannah Patton, Hannah Matthews, Robert Ainslie, and Sergiy Barchuk

"Speak up for those who cannot speak for themselves, for the rights of all who are destitute. Speak up and judge fairly; defend the rights of the poor and needy." Proverbs 31:8-9

If you are a member of The Salvation Army, it is likely that wherever you go, you will find you are somehow connected to everyone else in The Salvation Army. This statement rang true the day I met Bill, my homeless friend. Upon discovering our shared upbringing, we talked for hours about various Salvation Army happenings, and with every following Saturday, I found myself getting to know Bill on a more personal level. Sadly, the following summer did not allow for me to continue my frequent visits to Boston, but upon my return, Bill was waiting. Walking up to me, he placed twenty dollars in my pocket, told me to buy myself lunch, and thanked me for helping him out in his beginning stages of homelessness. I stood humbled.

While a group of us were recently living “homeless” upon the steps of A.J. Chapel, I found myself repeatedly thinking of how much a relationship changed Bill’s life-a relationship that started simply by acknowledging his presence. As the verse says, “defend the rights of the poor and needy.” Bill, along with the rest of the world, has the God-given right to feel visible. However, this right is unattainable if nobody bothers to look in your eyes and ask something as simple as “How are you doing today?” Recognizing the existence of a human being can change his or her life. The homeless men and women on the streets of Boston are not just statistics, but God’s children. A cup of coffee, or even a smile, may help them realize that.

TEAM STORYTELLING By Anna Tschetter '08

Some students have a clear picture of what they want to do with their lives. Heather Lobe, sophomore theatre arts major, is one of those people. Lobe says, “Theatre is all I’ve ever wanted to do with my life since I was four years old and my mother took me to a children’s theatre performance.”

With Gordon’s recent production of Shakespeare’s comedy Love’s Labour’s Lost, the Theatre Department has once again grabbed the attention of the campus and the course of conversations, with students asking each other, “Have you seen the play yet?” The production spotlights a portion of Gordon which may not be familiar to many of us. The theatre majors on campus are constantly working to create and bring life to their artistic visions.

It’s clear that these students have a passion for their studies and the practice of their art. Freshman Carissa Gerber states that she probably spends two to three hours a day in the theatre during the regular semester and eight hours a day during the production’s tech week. Natalie Miller, senior Theatre and English double major and lead in Love’s Labour’s Lost, spent the day before the opening night fully booked. Waking at 6:00am, she spent almost the whole day in Barrington for rehearsals, class, costumes fittings and a final dress rehearsal before the big night, not returning home until 11:30pm.

Aside from the commitment of hours, theatre classes involve a mix of theory, history, tech (i.e. stage building and lighting) and practical classes. A year-end review session also assesses every theatre student’s strengths and weaknesses. Lobe says, “It’s nerve-wracking but nice because the professors care about you; that’s not always the case at other schools.”

If you talk to any of these students, the passion and energy they express for their discipline is something that can be lacking in other majors. Lobe, Gerber and Miller are quick to praise the way that performing brings them together with the other theatre majors as well as the audience. All three of them talk about the importance of community and collaboration in performance and everyday student life. Gerber calls it “team storytelling,” and says that the creation of a dynamic production can profoundly impact a person.

These women also enjoy experiencing the different aspects of theatrical production that the major allows. In Barrington, theatre majors seem willing to do whatever needs to be done to get the show running—anything from working on the lighting, making a prop, sewing a costume or helping someone rehearse lines. Miller agrees, “I’ve done tech for every show: ones that I’ve been in and ones that I haven’t. I’ll fit someone for a costume and then I’ll be on stage with them.”
So do you think you’re up for a challenge? Gerber encourages people to come and see. “Anyone can audition for a show or come work for the day. There are some great people here and it’s a good bonding time!”

WHY I LIKE MY JOB By Jamie Johnson, Housing Director and Resident Director of Bromley Hall

Apparently, I hate my job.

At least that is what a student email told me this week. I admit it came as a bit of a shock, especially since it was something I didn’t know! And so, as the email suggested, I trudged on down to CVS to inquire about any openings they may have, and was told I didn’t have enough experience outside the bubble to even be considered.

Imagine that! I was in shock, especially since I didn’t even know I was in a bubble to begin with. I asked the manager, “How did you know I was in a bubble?” She laughed and said, “Everyone in the real world knows that Gordon’s campus is a bubble. If you were in the real world, you would be able to clearly see it.” The image of a bubble conjured up ideas of being restrained, of being protected, and I knew that wasn’t true. I thought to myself, “Isn’t Gordon’s motto ‘Freedom within a Framework of Faith?’” If this manager was right, perhaps the motto should be changed to, “Shackled within a Circular Structure.”

Now I was really confused! In one day I had learned two depressing things: I hate my job, and I live in a bubble! Talk about empathizing with Jonah. At least it didn’t smell in my bubble – or did it?

So I came back to Gordon, back to the bubble, and tried to figure out how two people I didn’t even know could so successfully psychoanalyze me. And then, suddenly, as drastic as the spewing from the fish’s mouth must have felt to Jonah, I was reminded of why I love working here, and why I never even knew (or cared) that a bubble existed.

Allow me to indulge.

I love Christian liberal arts colleges. I went to one, and now I work at one. If it is the Lord’s will (and I hope it is), I will gladly work at a Christian college for the rest of my life. To me, a Christian college is the perfect synthesis of exploration, formation, and identification.

Exploration: Who am I? I asked this question while in college (still often ask it), and I hear it uttered often by others involved in this enterprise. Gordon offers a chance for me (and you) to explore passions, identities, and questions in ways that are not always offered in other environments. I don’t know about you, but that is freedom to me.

Formation: Another oft-uttered question is, “what in the world am I becoming?” While it is not obtuse to assume that a Christian college shelters one from the real world and its desire to conform humanity, I wonder if this is what I should truly desire. Is it important to look like the world? Can and should an external institution really try to internally transform me, something that I can and should do myself? A Christian college offers a healthy approach to this teleological question, realizing that formation is not an isolated, self-seeking enterprise.

Identification: This comes only after the first two questions have been honestly asked and answers have been honestly sought. And the great thing about this occurring within the context of a Christian college is one (hopefully) experiences that true identity does not come with separation from the bubble, but only when recognizes there is – gasp! - no such thing as a bubble!

Now that I look back, I’m not sure any of this proves whether or not I hate my job – even though I can assure you I do not – but it does prove one thing: being at a Christian college, in any capacity, is not about answering, “What have you done for me lately?”

Because any time life, any aspect of life, is pursued with such a mentality, I am bound to be let down. And I can assure you that no matter where I am, in or out of a bubble, at CVS or Gordon, I can be let down.

I guess this means I do love my job, this school, and our common endeavor. Sorry if that bursts your bubble. But that is what we all want, right?

SOME THOUGHTS THAT RING TRUE By Abigail Geer '08

I recently was talking to a freshman friend of mine. She asked me, with a note of despair in her voice, if I feel pressured to date. God had been forming my thoughts for some time previous to her asking me this, and so I answered that I don’t. That comes and goes like the weather in New England, some days I feel no pressure, other days I sit in my room melodramatically thinking I’m doomed to turn into an old hag if I don’t hurry it up on the whole boyfriend thing. But as I said, God had been shaping my thoughts, and is continuing to, and this is some of what I’ve been learning:

When I turn my eyes to Jesus, the question of whether or not I’m in a relationship loses some of the importance, some of the pressure. When I turn my eyes to Jesus, I remember that He is the one in control of when I date and when I don’t, of what I do and where I go. I remember that I serve a God of infinite possibility. What He’s been teaching me is to delight in Him. When I do that, when I seek His Kingdom rather than power or a relationship or good grades, this is what I see: I see that on my horizon glimmer employment, graduate school, relocating to some as-yet undetermined part of the country or world; I see that around me are people who continually surprise me, work that I love to do, a campus to care about. These are things that don’t depend on my relationship status, but on God. Some of my friends will be graduating with rings on their fingers; I will hold my diploma without one. But we are all to run this race as though we were running for the prize—a laurel wreath around our heads—a ring of leaves.He is teaching me to fix my eyes on the day when this world of wedding and getting ends and we receive crowns of glory—rings of praise on our heads. He is teaching me to set my eyes upon Jesus, the author and perfector of my faith, and His Kingdom, and in this I am finding I am satisfied. The question of dating has paled—I can run single or paired. I tell you from the heart: God is good to us, seek Him, be faithful to Him. In your studies, in how you engage our community, in your relationships, seek to be His, and He will be yours.