Inspire, Fall 2002

Alumnus Joins Bible Staff Dr. Dan Stevens ’69 is returning to Cedarville as professor of biblical education. He brings to the department more than 24 years of experience in Christian education instruction and higher education leadership. After leaving Cedarville, Dan earned a master of theology degree at Dallas Theological Seminary and was the founding pastor of Charity Baptist Church in McLean, Virginia. In 1974, Dan returned to Cedarville for a four-year stint as assistant director of development. As Cedarville’s first full-time alumni coordinator, he established the Heritage Alumni program. With the help of Dr. M. Earle Collins, the alumni office was able to locate many former students and graduates from Cedarville’s Presbyterian years. Dan also led the initial development of our Torch magazine and coordinated the first computerization of Cedarville’s constituency records. Upon completing coursework at The Ohio State University for a Ph.D. in adult education, Dan began his teaching career at Grand Rapids Baptist College and Seminary. He served there as a professor and registrar for seven years. During four years at Western Seminary in Portland, Oregon, Dan was the Christian education department chair and executive dean of Western’s San Jose, California campus. This was followed by one year as executive dean of Grace Seminary West. For the past 12 years, Dan has been at Biola University, where he served as director of the doctor of education program at Talbot School of Theology and, later on, director of program development, designing and refining academic programs for the university. Dan’s wife, Sue (O’Shell) ’68, has endured 32 years of marriage to Dan while achieving a solid reputation as a fine elementary school teacher. The Stevenses, who reside in Beavercreek, Ohio, are the proud parents of four grown sons and now enjoy three granddaughters. Teaching Others to Teach “I want to return to Cedarville some day and teach in the Bible department.” We hear this from some of our graduating seniors as they explore the possibilities of their future ministry. We do watch continually for potential faculty members among our students, to encourage them to pursue graduate work and ministry experiences with a goal of possibly joining us at some point in the future. The alumni who have returned to the University have pursued graduate work in both theology and education and have had experience in a variety of ministries, as well as in academia. Several of our graduates have returned to become vital members of the department team. All of our new faculty members make significant contributions to our students. Our alumni bring the results of their graduate studies and ministry experience to us as do those who did their undergraduate work at other colleges and universities. The infusion of new insights and the maturing and honing of research skills in graduate work, plus the fruitful experiences of applying theology to ministry on the part of our alumni enhance greatly the mission of the department of biblical education. New faculty members provide refreshing and stimulating insights into the discipline for their department colleagues and students. Students can only benefit greatly from this in their own learning experiences. Our alumni know about the Cedarville experience. They have experienced the culture. They are in agreement with our doctrinal position and stance on the crucial issues of the day. As graduates of our program, Cedarville alumni already have an orientation to the department of biblical education’s program. They can also thereby provide valuable assessment for program review. In addition, they have a broad and rich background in the liberal arts, critical thinking, and the integration of faith and learning. The alumni understand our students after having been where they are now. The Bible faculty are teaching others to be teachers, some at Cedarville University (II Timothy 2:2). W h a t ’ s t h e W o r d ? Dr. Jack Riggs, Dean of the School of Humanities, Fine Arts, and Bible Dr. Dan Stevens ’69 12 Fall 2002