University of Southern California

Dallas Willard’s ��Ƶ Ministry Roots

gordon.govier@intervarsity.org — Tue, 24 Sep 2019 13:45:24 +0000

September 24, 2019

Gordon Govier

Dallas Willard’s ��Ƶ Ministry Roots

��Ƶ’s Graduate and Faculty Ministries marked its 30-year anniversary at the GFM annual staff conference this year but the story of Dallas Willard shows that ministry to graduate students and faculty is buried much more deeply in the DNA of ��Ƶ. This was celebrated earlier in the year during a meeting of the faculty fellowship at the University of Wisconsin-Madison (UW). As the faculty members and administrators gathered at the University Club, they were regaled with memories of the days when Dallas was a UW graduate student.

Dallas received his Ph.D. in philosophy at the UW, living and studying in Madison from 1959 to 1965. He was hired at the University of Southern California (USC) in 1965 and taught philosophy there for the next 47 years, until just before his death in 2013. Along the way, Dallas also became a leading evangelical writer and speaker, influencing many thousands through books like The Divine Conspiracy.

Gary Moon’s biography, Becoming Dallas Willard (��Ƶ Press), describes the five years spent in Madison as a graduate student and lecturer as a critical time for Dallas. Despite having previously attended three Christian colleges, being ordained in a Baptist Church in 1956, and pastoring at two churches, Dallas still looked for a transformational faith. “I was almost terminally ignorant about God and soul,” he said later.

Discovering Spiritual Disciplines

At UW, Dallas discovered a new dimension of faith through the practice of spiritual disciplines. “What I had thought were merely the discarded practices of futile religion were actually things that, if rightly used, would help people change,” he observed.

One of the spiritual disciplines that Dallas practiced was the regular Sunday night fellowship with a handful of other graduate students in the home of UW Geography professor John Alexander, who was the ��Ƶ undergraduate chapter faculty sponsor, and soon to become ��Ƶ president.

"He (Alexander) felt that there was a need for something for the grads; he opened his home on Prospect Drive for us,” recalled Mary Daniel, emeritus professor in the UW Department of Spanish and Portuguese. “At Dr. A’s house nothing was off limits. You could ask anything.”

In the foreword to the study guide for The Divine Conspiracy, Dallas attributed many of the basic teachings from the book to this formative period. “Part of the first chapter comes from graduate school days when I was active in ��Ƶ Christian Fellowship,” he wrote.

What Dallas appreciated about ��Ƶ, he said at another time, “was that capacity to be biblically serious, to hold to the central teachings of what Lewis called ‘Mere Christianity,’ and yet to be open enough to be willing to discuss anything.”

The Dilemma

Dallas faced a hard choice as his time at UW came to a close. He received his Ph.D. in 1965, and during the previous year he had not only been a UW lecturer, but he also pastored the Arena Congregational Church in a small town outside of Madison. Would he return to the pulpit as a full-time pastor or follow philosophy into the academy? What would it be, the pulpit or the classroom?

Finally, the answer came. “The Lord said to me, ‘If you stay in the churches the university will be closed to you. But, if you stay in the university, the churches will be open to you.’ I knew the Lord said it to me because I sure didn't have enough sense to understand what it meant at the time,” he concluded.

So Dallas accepted the invitation from USC to move to California. He became a fixture in the philosophy department, chairman from 1982-1985, and recipient of the USC Associates Award for Excellence in Teaching in 1977.

Joe Thackwell, ��Ƶ’s Director of University Partnerships, got to know Dallas and his wife Jane as he planted a graduate student and faculty chapter at USC. He learned that Dallas would write his phone number on the board and tell students they could call anytime, “although if it was dinner time he may not answer.” Joe noted, “The call to pastor through his professorship was a family call that implicated his whole life in the way that missionary and pastor’s families often experience.”

Dallas spent hours and hours listening to students in his office and made a habit of long lunches with students and faculty, engaging them deeply. “He also made himself available to the whole Christian community at USC,” Joe said. “When he taught at the Trojan Christian Faculty and Staff Fellowship the numbers swelled.”

Working with former students and current USC staff, Joe established a memorial plaque that now hangs in Mudd Hall, the home of the USC Philosophy Department. The plaque lists four worldview questions that Dallas used in his lectures and listed in his book, Knowing Christ Today. Joe believes that it is the only such memorial to a professor on the USC campus.

Dallas almost never said no to an invitation to speak. Through his counseling, books, and lectures about Christian living he was able to disciple as many people as a professor as he could have as a pastor, maybe more. And the formative fellowship he attended during his UW days illustrates the importance of graduate student ministry.

Donate to Support Graduate and Faculty Ministry

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University of Southern California

Saying Yes: A Freshman’s Leap of Faith

gordon.govier@intervarsity.org — Thu, 14 Nov 2013 21:58:48 +0000

News

November 14, 2013

Kathryn Brill

Saying Yes: A Freshman’s Leap of Faith

When freshman Alissa Fairchild arrived at the University of Southern California (USC) this fall, she knew exactly what she was looking for: a chance to share God’s love with others. “I wanted to embrace any opportunity God had for me,” she said. God honored her request and gave her an amazing way to show his love to the people right in front of her, impacting not only them but also Alissa herself.

Embracing God’s Call

It started when Alissa, a new member of USC’s ��Ƶ chapter, attended an event where students ministered to each other in prayer. At this prayer meeting, Alissa saw firsthand God’s transformative power as students were healed from physical and emotional pain. She and her prayer partner had many opportunities to bless people through prayer. Alissa described it as an “amazing experience.”

It turned out that the prayer meeting was only the beginning, though. As Alissa left the event, she felt a call from God to pray in an unexpected place: “I was standing outside my dorm building, and I looked up to the window of my fourth floor suite, which I share with seven other girls, none of whom are Christian. When I looked up at my room, God told me, ‘Go up there and pray for your roommates.’” Although Alissa thought it sounded a little crazy (how would two atheists, four agnostics, and a Buddhist react to being prayed for?) she went ahead and said yes to God’s call. “There was a chance that they would completely shut me down, but there was also a chance that they would say they wanted prayer. And if there was even the slightest chance, I had to ask them,” she said.

Stepping Out in Faith

Alissa got back to her room and found four of her roommates there. They asked her how her evening had been, and she started telling them about the prayer meeting. She was beginning to get nervous about how she might approach them about prayer when her roommate O., an atheist, mentioned that her throat hurt really badly. “There is no way it could have been clearer that I needed to pray for her,” said Alissa. When Alissa asked her if she wanted prayer for her throat, O. responded, “I would love it if you prayed for me.” As Alissa prayed, she asked God not only to heal O’s throat, but also to fill her with his love. O. told Alissa afterwards that her throat felt much better and she felt “loved and at peace.”

Another roommate, an agnostic named H., witnessed Alissa praying for O. and said, “I wish that I was sick so you could pray for me!” Alissa explained to her that she didn’t need to be sick to receive prayer, and “she was so excited to be prayed for,” Alissa said. In the end, all four of Alissa’s roommates who were home received prayer. Alissa asked God to make his presence known to her roommates and give them an awareness of his love. All four told Alissa that they felt happy and loved as a result of the prayer. “I was absolutely overwhelmed by how God was moving in the lives of my roommates,” she said.

The Power of Prayer

God’s work in the lives of Alissa’s roommates didn’t end that evening. Alissa has offered to pray for her roommates whenever they need it, keeping the door open for future spiritual conversations and encounters with God. One of her roommates has gotten curious about Christianity, asking Alissa a lot of questions about Jesus and even exploring the Bible. “I can’t wait to see what else God does in my dorm room and at USC,” said Alissa. “I know he has big plans for both.”

As a result of this experience, Alissa now has a greater confidence in God’s ability to work in anyone’s life, no matter how hostile they might initially seem to Christianity. “People are searching for meaning and hope in their lives, and that is exactly what Jesus can provide for them,” Alissa said. “Although reaching out to non-Christians might seem really scary and intimidating, God will give us all the right words to say.”

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Embracing the Rude Awakening

gordon.govier@intervarsity.org — Wed, 22 May 2013 19:38:33 +0000

News

May 22, 2013

Amy Hauptman

Embracing the Rude Awakening

“The transition from what I now nostalgically look back on as the ‘simpler times’—living life around warm, selfless Christian folks—to all of a sudden living, working, and building relationships with delinquent youth who have just come out of the hall [juve] was a bit of a rude awakening,” said graduating senior Frank Park (at left in photo).

As a University of Southern California (USC) December grad, Frank has found himself diving into a completely new life after college. He now works with Advent Group Ministries in San Jose, California, as a residential counselor for youth recovering from alcohol and drug addiction.

“I’ve been here a little less than two months now, and let me tell you, it’s been the most stretching season I’ve ever experienced in my entire life,” said Frank. “Every day, my job includes being insulted from morning till night. I am cursed at and threatened, and I’ve even had my car keys stolen in a poor attempt to steal my car.”

Seeking Community as a Freshman

As he looks back now on his freshman year, Frank remembers coming to college as a new Christian excited to meet people and make new friends. He started attending the USC ��Ƶ chapter’s meetings, attended a couple spring break camps at Campus by the Sea, and later became a small group Bible study leader for one semester.

Frank loved the community that he found in ��Ƶ and loved the college experience overall. But he had no idea how his life was about to start dramatically changing upon graduation. If God had told him where he’d end up post-college, he probably would have run in the opposite direction.

“I came into college wanting to get a great job that would provide a comfortable life with all the materialistic extras,” said Frank. “The idea of one day living in community with a group of alcohol- and drug-addicted youth never crossed my mind.”

As a freshman and sophomore, Frank planned to go to law school after graduation. But his plans changed his junior year when an old friend passed away from a suspected overdose. This sudden death caused Frank to reevaluate his life and where he was headed.

“Up until my friend’s open casket, I’d never seen a lifeless body before, and it was quite traumatic,” said Frank. “All of a sudden, the saying ‘life is short’ didn’t sound so cliché anymore, and I remember my eyes looking to the cross that hung above the casket—I distinctively felt God nudging me to put my foot on the brakes and make a left, so to speak.”

Taking a Left Turn

That year, Frank decided to spend his spring break attending a weeklong project called the Pasadena Urban Plunge (PUP) with 20 other ��Ƶ students from USC. They worked with Harambee Ministries, learned about God’s heart for the poor and the inner city, and studied God’s Word together.

Frank learned so much about God’s love for justice during this one week that he decided to also do a similar project over the summer called the Los Angeles Urban Project (LAUP). These two projects helped Frank understand and ultimately really believe that God loves the inner city and the poor.

“��Ƶ has played an immeasurable role in introducing me to God’s heart for social justice, for the poor, and for serving on campus and beyond campus,” said Frank. “As a result of ��Ƶ, I made a commitment to serve in a multicultural setting post-college.”

During his senior year, Frank applied for a position as a residential counselor at Advent Group Ministries and ended up getting the job. Today, Frank credits God for the ways that he transformed his heart from a freshman concerned only about getting a good job to now a graduated senior open to following God’s leading and calling on his life.

“God has transformed my heart in ways that I never would have imagined for myself,” said Frank. “Although I’ve only been here for about two months, God’s been at work—despite all the difficult things about my job, I got to do an inductive Bible study with a couple of the guys already!”

Following Jesus Despite the “Rude Awakening”

Every day, Frank has to endure things that he doesn’t deserve, and often struggles with low self-esteem because of his clients’ attitudes, insults, or constant mocking. But through it all, Frank has learned daily how to see and love these youth as God loves them.

“Despite the daily hardships the staff at Advent Group Ministries experience,” said Frank, “I think I can speak on behalf of everyone when I say that our pain and difficulties will never compare to the pain most of these young people have already experienced—they have survived so many things, things that were mostly out of their control.”

As Frank and other residential counselors seek to faithfully love and care for these youth, administer medications, and provide counseling, Frank looks for guidance and help from God and is reminded daily that God is in control and is trustworthy, no matter what and where he calls us to.

“I remember coming across an ��Ƶ Press book at Urbana called Finding Calcutta, where Mother Teresa shared that if God had revealed to her at an early age how she would spend the rest of her life—serving the poorest of the poor—she would’ve run away from it all,” said Frank. “I’m so glad that God invites us to take one step of faith at a time, and eventually each step becomes into an incredible and unimaginable journey.”

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University of Southern California

��Ƶ Alumni - Benjamin Reese

gordon.govier@intervarsity.org — Thu, 11 Aug 2011 17:08:47 +0000

News

August 11, 2011

Amy Hauptman

��Ƶ Alumni - Benjamin Reese

“One of the most exciting and challenging things that I did in college was when I and some other ��Ƶ students sat on couches in the middle of campus holding signs that said, ‘I’m a Christian,’” recalled Benjamin Reese. Having graduated from the University of Southern California (USC) in 2010, Benjamin reflected on how God used the ��Ƶ chapter at USC to teach him what following Jesus looks like.

“��Ƶ was very evangelical and mission-oriented, which was kind of a shock to me. Before I came to college, my Christian faith was pretty luke-warm,” said Benjamin. “I was one of those kids who knew all the Bible stories, went to church on Sundays, but I never had a personal relationship with God.”

Thriving Faith After College

If you knew Benjamin today, you would see that Benjamin is not only a very different person than he was when he was a freshman in 2006, but you would see someone with a faith that is thriving beyond college.

Today, Benjamin works for Disney Imagineering, the organization within Walt Disney Company which creates all of the attractions and experiences for the theme parks across the globe. He applied to Disney while still in college, and didn’t hear from the company for a long time. Two weeks after graduation, job-less, and living with his parents, he got a call for an interview and landed the job. He considers it a “gift from God.”

While it might be tempting to get caught up in the “wonderful world of Disney,” Benjamin hasn’t missed a beat and continues to be bold about his faith in his workplace.

“My last ��Ƶ fall conference that I went to, we talked about the fact that as Christians, we have to be willing to carry our crosses daily,” Benjamin recalled. “So I literally got a cross and attached it to my work backpack to remind me of my daily call as a Christian – that we are to lay down our lives for the sake of others.”

Christian Fellowship at Disney

Benjamin not only has shared with his coworkers about how Jesus has changed him, but he has also discovered other Christians and even a Christian fellowship at Disney. Now he and other Christians at his work study God’s Word and pray together weekly. Besides growing with other Christians at his work, Benjamin said that finding a church home was crucial for his transition out of college.

“I would say that finding a church after graduation is probably the most important thing graduates need to do,” he said. “It’s a really difficult transition after college. You leave ��Ƶ, a radical and close-knit community, and you enter the real world where you don’t know anyone.”

Benjamin recommended that graduates find a church within a month of graduating or relocating, and then start building that community. For example: join a membership class, take part in small groups, go to church services, etc.

“Finding a new community can be really hard. I am an introvert – I know! It takes me a lot of energy to meet new people, but now I have a great community,” he said. “Leaving your college community behind doesn’t mean community will no longer be great. I now have great friendships with people half my age to twice my age and some of them even play Dungeons and Dragons!”

Just say Yes

In regards to those students who have not graduated yet and are involved in ��Ƶ, Benjamin has three words of advice for these students: “Just say yes.”

“Saying yes can be the most radical thing we can do as Christians. In some ways, there are so many opportunities that I missed with Intervarsity that I regret so much because I didn’t start getting involved until my sophomore year. I wish I could have been a leader. I wish I could have gone to the summer conferences. I wish I could have studied Mark 2,” states Benjamin. “Just say yes and encourage others to say yes.”

Even though, Benjamin might have regrets about opportunities that he missed out on, those regrets haven’t stopped him from seizing opportunities that present themselves today. Just last Easter, he had an opportunity to lead by example, by partnering with another church member and inviting neighbors to their church’s Easter service.

“We went door to door and invited people to this service. The person that went with me was so nervous, but she was ready to be transformed. She said yes, and who knows how God plans to use her yes so that others might come to know Him,” said Benjamin.

“I truly believe that God is setting up mighty works that he will help us complete,” Benjamin concluded. “When God invites you into opportunities, just say yes. He will meet you.”

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University of Southern California

��Ƶ alumni

Randy and Meg Palisoc: Raising the Bar in Education

gordon.govier@intervarsity.org — Tue, 12 Jul 2011 14:51:55 +0000

Alumni Profile

News

July 12, 2011

Amy Hauptman

Randy and Meg Palisoc: Raising the Bar in Education

Synergy Charter Academy is making its mark in a Los Angeles urban neighborhood and in the nation’s educational system. Not only are their students outperforming other students in neighboring schools, but last year they became the first elementary school in South Los Angeles to receive the National Blue Ribbon Award– the highest honor an American school can achieve.

The National Blue Ribbon Award is a United States program created in 1981 “to honor schools which have achieved high levels of performance or significant improvements with emphasis on schools serving disadvantaged students.”

UPDATE: In 2013, Synergy Charter Academy was also recognized as one of America's Best Urban Schools by the National Center for Urban School Transformation.

Stepping Out in Faith

Synergy’s story began when Randy and Meg Palisoc, teachers and alumni of ��Ƶ Christian Fellowship, had a vision to create a free alternative public school for elementary students in South Los Angeles – similar to the schools featured in the documentary Waiting for Superman.

As teachers, Randy and Meg wanted to do something that would help “eliminate the achievement gap that has persisted for generations among educationally disadvantaged students.” So, they stepped out in faith and took on an incredible challenge – they founded a charter school.

In 2005, Randy told USC Urban Ed Magazine, “If you’re a classroom teacher in the third grade, each year you can influence the lives of 20 students. If you start a charter school, you can affect the lives of 120 students from kindergarten through fifth grade. And if you do well as a school, you can serve as a model for the entire school district. That’s our vision.”

After seven years of consistent recognition and awards, Meg believes that God has expanded their vision even more.

“Our goal now is to bring unity among school systems as there is a lot of competition,” stated Meg. “We want to empower schools with higher quality education and share our practices with the rest of the American school system, so that we can all succeed.”

��Ƶ Prepared the Way

According to Meg, ��Ƶ had a significant role in preparing and shaping her for the work she now does.

“When I was a student at USC, I got pretty involved in ��Ƶ,” mentioned Meg. “The things that especially played a key role in shaping my passions were experiences like the Chicago Urban Project and Urbana 93.”

Meg planned to go overseas as a missionary after college, so she looked for various opportunities to grow in her faith. She especially remembered the summer after her junior year, when God invited her to go on an ��Ƶ summer missions trip – to Chicago.

“When I went on ��Ƶ’s Chicago Urban Project in the summer of 1995, little did I know that God was preparing me for the rest of my life,” recalled Meg. “It was such a stretching experience. While I really loved the kids I worked with and had a heart for the urban setting, it was tough work.”

That fall as Meg was looking for ways to grow spiritually, Randy committed his life to following Jesus for the first time. Then, as Randy started getting involved in ��Ƶ his senior year, he also met and started dating Meg.

Letting God Lead

While Randy was supportive of Meg’s desire to go overseas, he wasn’t sure he was called to go overseas. So, as Randy and Meg graduated and began to discuss marriage, Meg decided to stay at USC and get her Master’s degree. Meanwhile, Randy got a job as an Office Manager, but it only took a year for Randy to discover that “he wasn’t satisfied with business.”

During this time, God used a friend and alumnus from their USC ��Ƶ chapter to suggest that Randy should try teaching.

“Randy had never ever considered teaching, but he decided to try it . . . and he loved it!” exclaimed Meg. “He’s a natural.”

Randy’s passion for teaching inspired Meg to become a teacher as well. “Which is funny,” remarked Meg, “because when I was in elementary school, my dream was to be a teacher. But as a Chinese-American, I never felt the freedom to say that aloud because of cultural pressure to aim for a career in medicine or law.”

While Randy and Meg did not end up overseas, they have indeed lived sacrificial lives for the sake of those that God has called them to.

To get Synergy up and running, Meg and Randy had to start a line of credit on their home to pay for the school’s expenses. They are responsible for all paperwork a district office usually does, as their school is considered “a separate school district.” They have also worn multiple hats from taking out trash and unclogging toilets to leading teacher trainings and speaking at national conferences. They do all of this extra work without extra funds from the government.

“Every year, we depend on God to provide us the resources to provide another year of education to our students,” said Meg. “And God keeps providing for us.”

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God’s Guidance, Not Coincidence

webteam@intervarsity.org — Mon, 10 Nov 2003 06:00:00 +0000

News

November 10, 2003

Kristine Whitnable

God’s Guidance, Not Coincidence

“I once thought everything good was just coincidence, but now, after inviting Jesus into my heart, I truly see that it was no coincidence. It was all part of God’s plan for me.” says Jace.

Jace’s journey with God started as he prepared for school at the University of Southern California. As Jace was getting ready to leave home, he was struggling with the meaning of his life, the purpose of his existence. Further thought led him to consider a book that he had heard about, but had never read, the Bible. Before he left home, he decided to start reading the Bible, to see what it had to offer him in his search for a deeper meaning in his life.

In the midst of these musings, another ‘coincidence’ occurred. Jace met Mr. Lee. Mr. Lee knew quite a bit about USC because his son, Sun, was a student there. Mr. Lee told Jace about Sun and about the Trojan Christian Fellowship, the ��Ƶ chapter at USC, a good place to meet ‘cool’ people.

Jace made his way to USC. When he arrived at his dorm, he realized that, coincidently, he was rooming next to Sun Lee. During his first week, Jace also chanced to meet Teresa, a student leader of the Trojan Christian Fellowship. The Holy Spirit had led her to live in the dorms to be available for students like Jace who wanted to know more about spiritual things. She invited Jace to a GIG (Group Investigating God) to explore the Bible in more depth. Here, Jace spent time in God’s word with his new friends from ��Ƶ.

These friends invited Jace to Fall Conference at Campus by the Sea, ��Ƶ’s training facility on Catalina Island. Shortly after he arrived at Campus by the Sea, Jace prayed that he would be shown something or told something that would push him closer to God. Jace tells us what happened next. “The weekend at Campus by the Sea was my answer. I became a Christian that very weekend because I recognized God’s plan for me, and was witnessing it in action. God brought me to USC, to the dorm I was in, to ��Ƶ and to Catalina. He’s led me to this place and he would lead me to a better life. Jesus’ love is so powerful, and for that, I am grateful. I am also grateful for all the new brothers and sisters that God has brought into my life.”

After accepting Christ, Jace read Luke 15, the parable of the prodigal son. He says, “Reading that portion of the Bible reminded me that I have finally come home. Times aren’t always good, but faith is what helps us through. I really have come to God’s home.”

To some, the events that led Jace to the conference at Campus by the Sea could be attributed to chance, but Jace knows that God was drawing him closer to a saving grace in Him.

News Keywords

University of Southern California

University of Southern California

Dallas Willard’s ������Ƶ Ministry Roots

Dallas Willard’s ������Ƶ Ministry Roots

Discovering Spiritual Disciplines

The Dilemma

Saying Yes: A Freshman’s Leap of Faith

Saying Yes: A Freshman’s Leap of Faith

Embracing God’s Call

Stepping Out in Faith

The Power of Prayer

Embracing the Rude Awakening

Embracing the Rude Awakening

Seeking Community as a Freshman

Taking a Left Turn

������Ƶ Alumni - Benjamin Reese

������Ƶ Alumni - Benjamin Reese

Randy and Meg Palisoc: Raising the Bar in Education

Randy and Meg Palisoc: Raising the Bar in Education

God’s Guidance, Not Coincidence

God’s Guidance, Not Coincidence

Dallas Willard’s ��Ƶ Ministry Roots

Dallas Willard’s ��Ƶ Ministry Roots

��Ƶ Alumni - Benjamin Reese

��Ƶ Alumni - Benjamin Reese