An open letter to the Churches of Christ in the Pacific Northwest
It is a very painful experience to see a Christian College in the NW close for a second time.
But now is not the time to react emotionally and hurl accusations at either Cascade College or Oklahoma Christian. It is now time for open dialogue between all interested people.
I have contacted two different people about Cascade’s closing. One person on the Cascade College Board and one on the OC Board of Trustees. Given my experience in the business world and my own biases, I did not get what I expected. But what I was told is not my story to tell.
Instead of reacting out of raw emotion because our expectations have not been met or because of our experience with Columbia Christian College, I would recommend that you contact Cascade College with an open mind and an open heart.
The fact that we need a Christian College in the Pacific NW will always be true.
Also, the fact that we had a catastrophic failure with one college will always influence our perception about any similar efforts.
As I see it, the actions of OC to close Cascade College at this time prevents a repeat of the slow lingering death of Columbia Christian College that many people will always remember and do not want to experience again.
There are many hard questions that we must ask. Not questions to Cascade or OC but among ourselves as the Churches of Christ in the Northwest. I believe that some have taken for granted the blessing of Cascade College but have failed to realize the cost of such an endeavor. Much in the same way most of us take for granted the security our jobs provide us but are shocked when that security is threatened by layoffs or downsizing.
I believe these are the questions we must ask ourselves. Both on the personal level and on the corporate level of the church body. The questions will remain the same, the answers will always be different.
1. What is your vision for the church of Christ in the Northwest?
2. What is the vision of your church to impact society with the message of Jesus Christ?
As new churches such as Pump, Agape and Renovatus have been planted in our area, someone asked this question: “Why are we planting new churches when the established churches are struggling?” I heard the answer from one of the church planters. “New churches reach out to new people. The established churches reach out to established people.”
Joshua offers this challenge that we are all familiar with in the 24th chapter: "Now fear the LORD and serve him with all faithfulness. Throw away the gods your forefathers worshiped beyond the River and in Egypt, and serve the LORD. But if serving the LORD seems undesirable to you, then choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your forefathers served beyond the River, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you are living. But as for me and my household, we will serve the LORD."
We can all agree that we desire to serve the Lord in whatever we do. Please let me be so bold as to paraphrase the challenge so that each of us can define our own personal vision, our collective vision within our own local church and our vision as the Churches of Christ in the Northwest.
Choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether it be the established people in the established churches, the new people in the new churches, the young people in our colleges or the people all over the world who have not heard the message of Jesus Christ.
As Jesus himself said “For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”
Glen Aus
Portland Oregon
gwaus24@msn.com
But now is not the time to react emotionally and hurl accusations at either Cascade College or Oklahoma Christian. It is now time for open dialogue between all interested people.
I have contacted two different people about Cascade’s closing. One person on the Cascade College Board and one on the OC Board of Trustees. Given my experience in the business world and my own biases, I did not get what I expected. But what I was told is not my story to tell.
Instead of reacting out of raw emotion because our expectations have not been met or because of our experience with Columbia Christian College, I would recommend that you contact Cascade College with an open mind and an open heart.
The fact that we need a Christian College in the Pacific NW will always be true.
Also, the fact that we had a catastrophic failure with one college will always influence our perception about any similar efforts.
As I see it, the actions of OC to close Cascade College at this time prevents a repeat of the slow lingering death of Columbia Christian College that many people will always remember and do not want to experience again.
There are many hard questions that we must ask. Not questions to Cascade or OC but among ourselves as the Churches of Christ in the Northwest. I believe that some have taken for granted the blessing of Cascade College but have failed to realize the cost of such an endeavor. Much in the same way most of us take for granted the security our jobs provide us but are shocked when that security is threatened by layoffs or downsizing.
I believe these are the questions we must ask ourselves. Both on the personal level and on the corporate level of the church body. The questions will remain the same, the answers will always be different.
1. What is your vision for the church of Christ in the Northwest?
2. What is the vision of your church to impact society with the message of Jesus Christ?
As new churches such as Pump, Agape and Renovatus have been planted in our area, someone asked this question: “Why are we planting new churches when the established churches are struggling?” I heard the answer from one of the church planters. “New churches reach out to new people. The established churches reach out to established people.”
Joshua offers this challenge that we are all familiar with in the 24th chapter: "Now fear the LORD and serve him with all faithfulness. Throw away the gods your forefathers worshiped beyond the River and in Egypt, and serve the LORD. But if serving the LORD seems undesirable to you, then choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your forefathers served beyond the River, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you are living. But as for me and my household, we will serve the LORD."
We can all agree that we desire to serve the Lord in whatever we do. Please let me be so bold as to paraphrase the challenge so that each of us can define our own personal vision, our collective vision within our own local church and our vision as the Churches of Christ in the Northwest.
Choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether it be the established people in the established churches, the new people in the new churches, the young people in our colleges or the people all over the world who have not heard the message of Jesus Christ.
As Jesus himself said “For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”
Glen Aus
Portland Oregon
gwaus24@msn.com
posted by Glen at 5:04 PM
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