Cedars, December 2018

December 2018 6 CAMPUS by Shelby McGuire A fter working as an adjunct professor last school year, Dr. Trent Rogers has moved into a full-time position this year as assistant professor of New Tes- tament and Greek. He is teaching courses in the Bible minor and the masters of ministry program as well as Greek. Rogers only had to relocate his office about amile fromGrace Baptist Churchwhere he previously served as the adult ministries pastor to the second floor of the BTS at Ce- darville University. During his time at Grace, he led a college group that equipped him to pursue teaching at Cedarville. This was an op- portunity that came to him unexpectedly, but Rogers said that it ended up being a personal blessing to both him and his wife. “It really formed our love for college students and an our appreciation for the ministry of Cedarville University,” Rogers said, “It also shaped our ministry skill set to be able to speak to college students.” When the opportunity came to serve as an adjunct professor at Cedarville, he found that it was the perfect avenue to build on the ministry that he was already involved in, al- though he was a bit skeptical at first. “I had the feeling that I would either love it or hate it,” Rogers said regarding his original thoughts about teaching college students. “[My wife] had the feeling that I was going to love it.” She was right. He immediately felt at home in the classroom. And within the first week of teaching his Bible and the Gospel class, he knew that he has a passion for teach- ing and shepherding students through their study of the Bible in a classroom format. Much of the relational aspect of being a Bible professor was familiar to him because it is similar to the role of a pastor, both in the way he guides a group of listeners to understanding the text as well as pours into relationships with individuals. Rogers had his own unique journey to becoming a pastor. While earning his un- dergraduate degree at Wabash College, he took up the sport of powerlifting. Rogers excelled in his weight class and ended up breaking two world records in his class, in- cluding a 700-pound bench press. After completing his bachelor’s degree and Masters of Divinity at Trinity Evangel- ical Divinity School, he and his wife moved to the Chicago area. In Chicago, Rogers began working toward his Ph.D. at Loyola University. Rogers got a job at a local gym folding towels to help pay his way through school. Soon after starting the job, he was offered an opportunity to work at the gym as a personal trainer for a variety of high pro- file clients including professional athletes and wealthy CEO’s. Rogers said this was a humbling expe- rience to spend several one-on-one hours a week with prominent people who were like- ly unable to spend that amount of time with anyone else in their life. This allowed Rog- ers to be able to share the Gospel with these clients that may not have listened to it from anywhere else. “God, in his providence, provided for my ministerial training by allowing me to train others in athletics,” Rogers said. Training clients in strength and ath- letics was just one step in Rogers’ path that lead him to training students in study of the Bible at Cedarville University. After study- ing at Loyola, he began seeking a pastoral position in a local church. He was connect- ed with Grace Baptist Church in Cedarville where he served as the adult ministries pas- tor while he completed his Ph.D. and pub- lished his book “God and the Idols.” As he was doing all of these things, he came on as an adjunct Bible professor at Cedarville and, this year, accepted a full-time position teaching Greek, Bible minor courses, and Masters of Ministry courses. The university’s unwavering commit- ment to the Word of God and the testimony of Jesus Christ is one of the things Rogers loves most about working at Cedarville. An- other thing he appreciates about his job is the leadership of Dr. Thomas White over the university as well the leadership of Dr. Ja- son Lee over the Bible department. Rogers also has a heart for the students he teaches. He said that he loves “the stu- dents and the genuineness that they have, their eagerness to pursue Christ, and the sincerity of their faith. It’s a joy to see that in so many young people.” An unlikely series of events and oppor- tunities from the Lord have brought Rogers to Cedarville University where he is pursu- ing his passion for students and exercising his gift of teaching. “I love coming to work every day,” Rogers said. “I love what I do, it’s a great privilege.” Shelby McGuire is a sophomore journal- ism major and Campus News Co-editor for Cedars. She enjoys working out as well as feeding her caffeine addiction pretending that she has her life together. From Powerlifter to Pastor to Professor Trent Rogers shares his journey to becoming a professor at Cedarville University Photo by Lauren Jacobs Dr. Trent Rogers is a new professor of New Testament and Greek at Cedarville University. He has a passion for Christ, his students, and teaching.