We just returned from Thursday morning's history chapel. Dr. Oats, who has seen most of Maranatha's history, joked about Dr. Cedarholm's "10-point outlines," then honored him with one of his own.
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1. Plan of God ... How Oats came to Maranatha from Pillsbury in the fall of 1968.
2. Policies ... Oats noted how few rules existed in 1968, and how many have been added, he joked, "because of the stupidity of the students who have gone before you."
3. Price ... As Dr. Doug Jackson noted before his opening prayer, "600 bucks for a semester. A lot of you pay 600 bucks for books now."
4. Provision from God ... Learning to depend on God for financial support.
5. Pep band and plays ... The opportunity to participate.
6. Special places ... The former confessional booths, where many students conducted private devotions, and a particular pew in Burckart Hall where Oats spent much time in prayer as a student.
7. Preaching ... Many of the most visible figures in Baptist history have spoken from the pulpit here.
8. Primacy of the local church ... Matthew 16:18
9. People ... Cedarholm, Dr. Weeks, Dr. Barnes, Dr. Hollowood
10. Position ... Cedarholm "wanted to make sure people graduating from Maranatha were Baptists."
You can listen to the chapel here:
You can watch it here:
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Most of the nearly 500 guests expected this weekend have not arrived on campus. I did enjoy a brief chat with Paul Phelps. His tale of sliding down the Century House bannister and into the arms of Dr. Cedarholm is one of the best alumni stories in Rich in Mercy, the 192-page story of Maranatha now for sale. Phelps now administers a Christian counseling center in Michigan. His daughter, Marcia Brower, compiles the itinerary for the college's traveling musical groups.
--By Andrew Call, 10-23-08