Inspire, Summer 2012

Editor Joel Tomkinson ’03 Managing Editor Carol Lee ’96 Alumnotes Editor Monica (James) Bowen ’92 Creative Director Chad Jackson ’05 Graphic Designer Carrie Savage Photographer Scott Huck Alumni Relations Director Jeff Beste ’87 Coordinator for Programming and Communications Clara (Gebert) Lutz ‘10 Coordinator for Regional Events and Services Mark McDaniel ’05 Administrative Assistant Sarah (Whitfield) McCoy ‘11 Administration President William Brown Provost John Gredy Senior Vice President for Business and Chief Financial Officer Christopher Sohn Vice President for Academics Thomas Cornman Vice President for Advancement William Bigham Vice President for Christian Ministries Robert Rohm ’68 Vice President for Enrollment Management and Marketing Janice (Warren) Supplee ’86 Vice President for Student Life Carl Ruby ’83 Cedarville University is a Christ-centered learning community equipping students for lifelong leadership and service through an education marked by excellence and grounded in biblical truth. 1-800-CEDARVILLE • cedarville.edu Inspire is published spring, summer, and fall/winter by Cedarville University and mailed free of charge to alumni and friends of Cedarville University. Direct inquiries and address changes to: Inspire, Cedarville University 251 N. Main St., Cedarville, OH 45314 cedarville.edu/inspire inspire@cedarville.edu 937-766-6500 Cedarville University supports the highest environmental market standards in paper use and printing. Tell us what you think of material published in Inspire . Please include your name, class year (for alumni), city, and state. Anonymous letters will not be printed. Printed letters may be edited for space and clarity and may not necessarily reflect the views of the University. Submit your letter to Inspire , Cedarville University, 251 N. Main St., Cedarville, OH 45314, or cedarville.edu/inspire . Church, State, and the Constitution I am a politically active Christian and a father of two Cedarville alumni. I just finished reading your article, “The Line Between Church and State” in the Spring 2012 Inspire . Nowhere in our Constitution does it mention the separation of church and state. While I realize the words in the title were not selected to support a constitutional argument, I cringe every time I see Christians falling into the lingo trap of the politically correct establishment. For the record, the Constitution states: “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof.” The key here is Congress, not state or local legislative bodies. No congressional law has ever been passed. The church is free to do as it pleases in terms of endorsing candidates under the First Amendment. We have a blood-bought obligation to be politically involved, as our very Constitution and the provisions therein were formed by men under divine guidance, just as the Bible teaches us about God’s ordination of governments and kings. For the Church to remain silent during a time when central government seeks to strip our unalienable constitutional rights (God-given rights that cannot be revoked by man) from the citizens of this once-great land is tantamount to sin. We receive the government we deserve if we stand for nothing. Jeffrey Ney Elverson, Pennsylvania Lead Your Community InfoYouCanTake to thePolls 10 7Steps toGet Involved 19 Spring2012 let ters Letter From the Editor In April, 1,500 of our Inspire and Torch readers participated in an online survey about Cedarville’s publications. We were interested in your valuable feedback on content, title, frequency, and more. And we were particularly interested in your opinions about the following idea, taken from the survey itself: Cedarville is considering blending its two publications into a single publication that would, like Torch , provide Christ-centered commentary on current events and cultural issues. Like Inspire , it would feature alumni perspectives alongside others in the Cedarville family (including faculty, administrators, donors, or parents in positions of professional influence) who could speak to the given topic from a biblical perspective. Throughout the summer, we have been exploring the next steps for Cedarville’s publications. We want to highlight the influence of the Cedarville family and distinctive elements of a Cedarville education while providing a resource to help our readers think through today’s critical issues and live out a biblical worldview. We look forward to sharing the results with you later this winter. Joel Tomkinson ’03, Editor Cedarville, Ohio Summer 2012 Volume 23 Issue 2 2 SUMMER 2012