Philly on my Mind

With a trip to beautiful Philadelphia starting tomorrow morning -- in the middle of the night actually in order to catch the early shuttle to Salt Lake City and then what I hope is a bigger plane to Philly -- SEMBITS will take a backseat and allow professional development to drive this ride.
I'll be attending a conference on seminary recruiting put on by a company that goes by the letters GAPSEMC. Don't ask me what they stand for, I'm clueless -- in many ways, but particularly regarding those letters.
Below you'll notice what I'm sure will be the view from my hotel room in Philadelphia.

I found this picture of my hotel. I think it's the building behind the church, but I'm not sure.

Holiday Brass

The sounds of Christmas piped into the MBBS Big House while a steady rain fell in Fresno Friday morning. The FPU Brass Ensemble braved the Fresno storm in order to bring a little holiday cheer into the hallowed halls of MBBS. Pictured above are faculty members Tim Geddert and Valerie Rempel, leaning against the door frame appreciating the tunes.

Pastor's Roundtable

Monday morning bright and early found several members of the MBBS community joining with people from Fresno to chat with Dr. Gordon Nickel during the monthly roundtable. On the first Monday of every month MB Biblical Seminary invites pastors and other interested people to join us for breakfast, conversation and lunch on a variety of topics.
Monday's topic was "Authentic Engagement: The Challenge of Muslim/Christian Relations."
If any SEMBITS readers are interested in upcoming topics, you can find information about the Pastor's Roundtable at www.mbseminary.edu/events.

"Hottest Recruit Ever" to Visit MB Biblical Seminary Campus

The buzz around campus hums at an audible level as MB Biblical Seminary faculty, staff and students learn of the impending arrival of a very special campus guest.
"Andy, have you heard the news?" asked one staff member (named Jason) in breathless excitement. "We have a very special guest coming to campus. I bet you can't guess who it is!"
(I guessed it on the first try, since I have sources deep within the confines of MBBS.)
Another student reportedly dashed to the T-shirt print shop to make a special shirt welcoming the visitor. When this reporter confirms the message on said shirt it will surely be reported in this tablet of truth known as Sembits.
While some rumors had a famous actor known for saving the world in 24 hours sprints once per year, this reporter must stand on the facts. Said actor is not the special visitor.
Rather, we at MB Biblical Seminary prepare and plan for the arrival of Justin Hiebert from Hillsboro, Kansas.
"Yes, it's true, I'll be on campus for a short time around Thanksgiving," said Hiebert in a Sembits exclusive interview. "My schedule is pretty booked, so I might not have time to meet either the press or the president while in Fresno.
"But I'll make sure to be available for signing a few autographs and posing for a few photos for the paparazzi."
Eagerly waiting for a message from Hiebert, this reporter wondered aloud, "How should I break such a big story? What do I tell my loyal readers about this visit?"
Fortunately, Hiebert answered my question with frank humility.
"Just be sure to include 'hottest recruit in MBBS history...'"
The End.

Board Meetings!

MB Biblical Seminary welcomed the Board of Directors onto our Fresno campus during the past weekend for meetings.
The board meets once per semester t0 give guidance to the faculty, staff and administration of the seminary.

Chapel and Common Meal

With dimmed lights setting the mood, the MB Biblical Seminary celebrated an All Saints chapel on Wednesday. Led by Dr. Delores Friesen the seminary community took the opportunity to honor individuals who have impacted our lives. Upon the table sat several votive candles. People in the community were invited to come and light a votive candle in honor of others. As the table grew brighter, we sang a hymn in response.
Following the candle ceremony the community heard an encouraging word from former pastor and current student Carl Heppner.

Following chapel the MB Biblical Seminary community traditionally enjoys a meal together that we call "Common meal." In this photo professor Tim Geddert and a friend of his visiting from Germany prepare their plates.

Global Community Dinner

Friday night found MBBS'ers partying in style as the seminary community dressed up in cultural garb and enjoyed an evening of feasting and learning about various cultures represented by students, faculty and staff.
The event, previously known as the International Student Dinner, happens twice a year -- which gives everybody a few months to recover from the feast!

Back from Kansas

I took this picture through the windshield of a rental car while doing 75 on my way to some major Kansas metropolis. (Actually, for those of you who don't know me or are new to reading this blog, most of the "facts" reported have been stretched thinner than salt water taffy on that pulling and stretching machine. But, man, do they ever taste good!)
After seven days in Kansas talking with current and future MBBS'ers, I am happy to be back in my sweet old office.
While I do miss the wide open spaces of Kansas and the brilliant pink and purple sunsets, I'm happy to be back home in California.

Conference on the Water!

This roving reporter has been sent on a grueling assignment for the rest of this week. I'll be joining several youth pastors from the Pacific District of MB Churches for their "Conference on the Water." We'll be staying on a houseboat on Lake Mead, near Las Vegas, for three nights. I'm sure it'll be pretty rough.

Ministry Quest September Retreat

13 leaders arrived in Fresno from all over North America (well, actually, mostly from Saskatchewan and Kansas with a few other places represented like B.C., South AND North Dakota, and I guess that's about it) for their fall retreat last week. The students are part of a program called Ministry Quest that calls, nurtures and enables high school student leaders. Each participant was nominated for the program by someone in their home church. The home church plays a large role in the year-long process of MQ by calling, sending and mentoring each student.
In the picture above you can see (kind of) confetti being tossed onto a few of the students as they arrive in Fresno. Ben and Julie arrived on an earlier flight and had a few minutes to plan their grand confetti welcome of their new friends.


During the five day retreat the MQ'ers had many opportunities to have fun together while also learning how ways to improve on their leadership skills. The picture above shows the students working together to stack Tim Horton's cups using only the string and rubber band.
Yeah, that's all fine and good, but CHECK OUT THOSE SOCKS!

Seminary Invades Hartland Christian Camp

More than 100 members of the MBBS community traveled the crooked mountain roads to Hartland Christian Camp for the seminary's annual retreat. At an elevation above 4000 feet the sky shows what it can look like without the mascara of smog that occasionally blankets the Fresno area.
The highlight for many MBBS'ers, however, centered upon the words of former President and Old Testament scholar Elmer Martens. Martens and current MBBS Pastor in Residence Gaylord Goertzen teamed together to crack open the first chapter of Genesis during Saturday morning worship. I believe that in the photo above Elmer is cracking wise about something that Gaylord finds pretty amusing; as did all in attendance I'm sure.
The theme for the school year, as chosen by the Student Leadership Team, is "Beginning" as taken from the first words of our holy text. (In the beginning God created... for those of you who need the teleprompter on this one.)
The Hartland retreat also affords students, staff and faculty alike the time to forge new friendships and strengthen existing ones. The happy lads below posed for this picture in an attempt to personify the positive, friendly vibes of the MBBS community. (Even though two of them are from Nebraska and were already in mourning over that fact that their beloved Cornhuskers got spanked by USC on Saturday by some horrible amount of points. They were asked to wipe the tears from their eyes before this very photo. It took like 45 minutes, but as you can see by the result, the wait paled in comparison to the results.)

Coffee and Donuts!

Caffeine and Fat Pills!

You know it's a good day at MB Biblical Seminary when someone breaks out the Starbucks coffee travelers and a couple boxes of donuts to share, as was the case just minutes ago. (It was so recent, in fact, that this reporter faces the daunting task of typing while hyped up on caffeine, sugar and fat, especially on the first day of breaking a 4 day caffeine fast in the hopes of proving to the drug my independence of its silky smooth clutches, which, actually, was a smashing failure as my brain cried out "give me the drug!", but that's another story altogether...)
Each Thursday morning at 10 am the Student Leadership Team sponsors a community coffee break. All members of the seminary community are invited to come and stand around drinking coffee and chowing down on refreshments while telling tales of mythical proportions.

MBBS student Megan Zupancic spends a quiet moment coaxing the dark nectar of the gods from the thermal-lined box intent on keeping coffee smoking hot for hours on end at coffee break this morning.

Unknown Man Crashes Seminary Party!

Earlier today, while many in the MB Biblical Seminary broke bread together (see below), an unidentified man crashed the party. Many MBBS'ers noticed the man amble into the B.C. Lounge, walk around aimlessly for a brief period, check out the sign-up sheet and the cash box and finally help himself to a big ol' plate of grub.
Who was this stranger in our midst?
This reporter was not quite sure of the man's identity, but he did over hear him mumbling "...hungry and you gave me something to eat...thirsty and you gave me a cup of coffee..." (or some such words.)
Academic Dean Lynn Jost did seem to notice the man earlier than most. Shortly thereafter Jost said

Good Eats!

With the table loaded with delectable treats, the MBBS community joined together to do what it does best: eat.
(I suppose that some would say that we do other things better, such as theological education and training for ministry, but have they seen us eat together?)
Every Wednesday afternoon at 12:30 the whole joint shuts down as chef Lezlie Abbott-Goddard lays out a beautiful spread. While the above meal has never actually been the menu for common meal, the food rivals that on any picture that Google can find.

Water from the Sky?

Contrary to popular belief, water does occasionally fall from the sky in Fresno in August. This reporter has learned that said phenomenon is commonly called "rain." (Thanks to this newfangled research device called "the Internet.")
The above and below pictures confirm the presence of this stuff called "rain" in Fresno this morning, in case you might not believe the authenticity of the (dis)information found on Sembits.


I took this picture just seconds after the first one in an effort to scientifically document the rain, but then I thought, "Oh, they'll just think that Karl turned on the sprinklers." In an effort at further documentation I took the below picture from my office window just seconds after hearing a loud clap of thunder and seeing insanely bright and jagged lightening.
True story! Rain in Fresno in August! (Or was it the Second Coming?)

Any Open Spots?

With the first day of school for the Fall 2007 semester under way, those people accustomed to finding parking spots over the summer were in for a rude awakening this morning.
Nary an open parking spot to be found in the MBBS lot.
"I drove into the lot and saw a sweet open spot right between a dinky red Nissan and sweet silver SUV," said a source deep within the administration building at the MB Biblical Seminary. "But when I turned the wheel to pull in, I saw a sneaky little bike in my shaded spot."
Better luck next time buddy.

Happy Birthday Linda! (30 right?)

MB Biblical Seminary CFO Linda Bowman recently celebrated a milestone birthday with faculty and staff of the seminary. She looked to a bite of birthday cake (German Chocolate made from scratch by five year MBBS veteran Irene Uribe) for solace from the unfortunate mistake on her birthday hat.
"I don't know why that hat had the number 50 on it," said Bowman in a Sembits exclusive interview. "That's at least 20 years more than I've been alive. I guess Disneyland might be turning 50, but for people to say that I am that old is flat out wrong."
Regardless of the truthiness of the numbers in question, the faculty and staff enjoyed eating cake and singing (in harmony no less) "Happy Birthday" to Linda.
Here's to turning 30 Linda!

Three Rivers Takeover!

A new day in recruiting at MB Biblical Seminary has arrived. Last week members of the staff joined me in kicking off a new era of recruiting by sporting local tourist attire and posing for photos with prospective students. (That's me in the white shirt and blue hat standing next to a potential student who is giving the good old "thumbs up" to MB Biblical Seminary.)
Actually, the MBBS faculty and staff ascended into the Sierra foothills for our annual faculty and staff retreat. A good time was had by all, as is evident in the photo.

MBBS Helmet-Hedz Hit the Beach

Loaded to the gills with bikes, the official race crew of the MBBS Helmet-Hedz headed over the hillz to the beach for Beach Peddlers 07. The MBBS crew consisted of athletes in various shapes, sizes and skill ready to take on the punishing California coastal terrain. The race itself never actually took place, but rumor has it that the MBBS squad would likely have taken home the prize (a plastic bucket of seaweed, one starfish and three unidentified objects) when no other teams showed up.

Money Man

"I think there's some money somewhere in this desk," Eugene (Peterson) Trofimenko, Financial Aid Director at MB Biblical Seminary said to thin air. "I know if I keep looking hard enough that we can find some spare change."
Peterson-Trofimenko has been known to search high and low, near and far, for any amount of money to put into the coffers of students at MBBS.
"Yeah, dude, it's my job," Peterson-Trofimenko added.
While there may be more money in crazy places like banks and other lending establishments, Peterson-Trofimenko has been known to think outside of the box, or push the envelope, in hopes of securing funding for students.
According to an unnamed source deep within the administration building at the MB Biblical Seminary (Nancy Williams, Administrative Assistant and -- alleged -- super secret agent for governmental affairs involving fictional hocus pocus in educational circles) Peterson-Trofimenko has been seen hovering over small holes in the grass at the seminary at odd times during the day.
"Oh yeah, I saw him the other day with a small gardening trowel digging as if his life depended on it," remarked the unnamed source named Nancy. "I took a picture of it for proof."

Suitcase Seminary

"I love my current ministry and my wife has a great job here in town," said Jorge, a fictitious youth pastor, in a recent interview that occurred only in this reporters' mind. "I've been thinking about going to seminary for a couple of years, but we just aren't ready or willing to leave here.
"It seems, well, odd, that most seminaries say 'Why don't you quit your current job in ministry and come to seminary so that we can train you for ministry and help you find a different job in a different town."
With a new program dubbed Degree from a Distance, MB Biblical Seminary hopes to serve Jorge and people like him in places like Kansas, Oklahoma and South Dakota by allowing them to receive a Master of Arts in Christian Ministry in four years without moving to an MBBS location. By traveling only three weeks per year and supplementing those sessions with online courses, students can complete a degree without the hassle of calling U-Haul.
"Sweet," added Jorge. "I heard about this program by looking on the real seminary website, and it looked good. Who knows, someday I might decide to move to an MBBS location and plug into that community, but for now, I'll work on it from my hometown."

MB Biblical Seminary Names Mascot

Squirrels and other small rodents scrambled for their lives as a Red Tailed Hawk soared over the lush campus of MB Biblical Seminary recently.
The squawk of the hawk could be heard from the Mission Court Apartments, to the upper reaches of the Administrative House and the small corners of the faculty offices in the North Wing as MBBS'ers hailed the school's new mascot.
"I heard it like a voice crying in the wilderness," Academic Dean Lynn Jost did not say. "I looked out my window and saw it soaring above the fountain in the rose garden. It looked me in the eye and I could feel it warning me not to ride my bike to work anymore unless I wanted to feel its talons crush my helmet and mess up my hair."
(Jost has not been seen riding his bike to work during July, which makes this reporter think...Watch Out!)
Several years ago the fountain in the seminary rose garden was built to accommodate a mascot of the soaring sort, but until the spring of 2007 no such mascot was found suitable. (Legend has it that one bald eagle was offered the post but turned it down when it wasn't offered an air conditioned perch in the big ol' mansion on campus.)
The mascot has yet to be named.
Sembits is seeking input on the name of our new mascot.

Seminary Welcomes Circus

With a colorful canvas thrown atop the Hiebert Library, MBBS welcomed the Dead Authors and Pesky Pests Circus to campus recently. Various animals and authors jockeyed for position to witness displays of strength, agility and flat out freaky weirdness.
Rumor has it that inside the big tent Karl Barth could be seen swinging from the trapeze while Friedrich Schleiermacher sold peanuts to the dusty crowd of authors packed into rows on shelves. This reporter, however, can neither verify or denounce said rumors since admission was limited to patron saints of libraries and pests. (Little did the pests know that this circus would be their last...)

St. Theresa of Avila and St. John of the Cross prayed for the sanctity of events within.

On Assignment!

This roving reporter is out of here!
I've been sent on assignment to the rough north woods of Canada.
Fret not, dear friends, I will return to chronicle the most important of details, both true and not so true, at MBBS.
This is a picture of somewhere really pretty that I found on the internet -- it has nothing to do with MBBS or my upcoming reporting assignment.
Peace Out.

Academic Excellence

MB Biblical Seminary student (and President of the 2007/2008 Student Leadership Team) Benjamin T. Schmidt recently threw himself wholeheartedly into the classroom in yet another odyssey of learning. Schmidt routinely surrounds himself with the best theological word smiths, a state-of-the-art laptop computer and a cup of Kirkland's finest coffee as he sharpens his mind and faith in the pursuit of enlightenment.
"I'm drinking deeply at the fountain of knowledge," Schmidt commented in a recent interview that never actually occurred. "I want to leap through the window of opportunity that I have at MBBS and land with my feet on the ground, brush the broken glass out of my hair and keep drinking from that fountain," Schmidt never actually said.

Tasting Japan in Fresno

The grill sizzled in the middle of the coffee table while hosts Yoshi and Makiko Tanaka served their guests an Osaka special.
The Tanaka's invited Yoshi's ESL classmates to their seminary apartment for lunch on Wednesday. Guests were treated to a meal of Okonomiyaki (a mixture of flour, egg, cabbage and pork) grilled and flipped like flapjacks. The Tanaka's were kind enough to share various Japanese sauces and toppings for the food.
"It's okay," said Yoshi. "We can get more at Central Fish."
The main course was followed by a salad, fruit punch, coffee and dessert.
A good time was had by all as guests learned to eat with chopsticks and pretended that we had traveled many miles to join the Tanaka family in their Osaka home.

A Cautionary Tale

While giving myself a self-guided tour of the MBBS administrative mansion the other day I noticed this bright cautionary warning barring my tour from including the office of the president.
This roving reporter has yet to ascertain the events within the humble confines of the office of the president that necessitated such dire warning to all who would enter.
Perhaps one of you, the loyal readers of SEMBITS, has the story.
Please share it with us all.

Spiritual Formation

The flickering light of candles (and an occasional photographic flash) illuminated the timeless words of scripture for MB Biblical Seminary President James Holm as he prepared his soul for the task of teaching.
Today Holm and 12 students completed the first week of a two week course in which they seek to quiet their spirits and seek the voice of God.
Each morning during the two weeks they will spend half and hour sitting in the light of candles while listening to music and the words of scripture.
"We're taking time to slow down and let the rat race run on past," commented Holm. "The hope is to allow our souls to hear what God has to say in scripture."
President Holm has been teaching his course on spiritual formation for several years. While his duties as president keep him busy, he does like to keep in tune with students by teaching the course.
"I don't imagine that too many other classes here at MBBS start with candle light and music," Holm added, "but it helps prepare students for this class."

Less Weeds, More Roses

Thanks to the hard work of several women from Evangel Home, the MBBS rose garden is weed free . Last week the ladies came on campus ready to work and in a few short hours had pulled weeds around the rose garden and from the fountain planter in the middle of the garden as well.

"We're happy to be rid of all of those pesky weeds," commented one yellow rose. "They were sucking up all the good water."
"Now Karl can give us some fertilizer so that we can grow strong," added a neighboring red rose. "I hope he gets out here and takes advantage of all the hard work from those nice women."


"It's like the Bible says," commented Karl Muniz, Director of Facilities at MBBS, "Two workers are better than one. And in this case, 10 workers are a lot better than me. In one morning the ladies did what would take me most of a week to do.
"It was a great gift that they gave us at MBBS."

Office Thief!

One never knows what they will find in their office upon return from coffee break. For example, this morning I eagerly returned to my office (yes, that big 'ol fancy office in the picture is all mine, and sorry, "job's taken") in hopes of getting right back to work chatting with my new friends who are thinking about coming to MB Biblical Seminary.
However, this morning I found that my office had been kidnapped by jokster Dr. Danny Unrau.

Upon closer review, I learned that Dr. Dan was hard at work on the phone. One of my first thoughts was, "Sweet, I'm going home. Dan has the recruitment front well in hand. He's even learned the art of the 'lean back in the chair and talk shop.'"
But before I could gather my "going home" things, I couldn't help but listen in (okay, eavesdrop, in my own office) and hear Dan say, "oh yeah, teaching is real hard work. The hours are unreal."

Of course, hearing something this good doesn't happen everyday, so I putted around acting like I wasn't listening to his conversation in hopes of a few more great quotes.
And then walked in former President Henry Schmidt.
"I see Dan's hard at work," joked Henry.
Right around this point Dan hung up the phone and cracked a joke before heading back to his "real" job for the week -- teaching.

Dan is teaching "Leadership for a New Day: Emerging from Church Dysfunction to Congregational Health" this week. Dan came down to Fresno for the week from his home in British Columbia, Canada. He's happy to have this picture showing him teaching because, according to him, some of his close friends at home think he's really just golfing this week. I haven't caught him out on the links yet, but...

POG Party

The MBBS faculty and staff partied Hawaiian style this morning thanks to the generous party goods provided by world traveler Sherri Eason.
Sherri returned from a vacation in Maui loaded with lots of great eats. (And some things she bought here in Fresno because, frankly, cartons of juice don't fly very well.)
MBBS'ers found that if you mix the Pineapple/Orange juice with the Guava, you get a nice mixture called "POG." (That's "P" for pineapple, "O" for Orange and "G" for Guava for those of you who need as much help as I needed a few minutes ago.)
One of the great traditions with faculty and staff at MBBS is that when one of us has a birthday, anniversary, travels or generally just wants an excuse to have a mini-party at work we call a coffee break and get together for things like POG.

FC MB United Dominates Enroute to Title

After cruising to a couple of early victories in the Fresno Pacific University intramural soccer league, the seminary lads found themselves targeted by the upstart university footballers.
"Oh yeah, they were out to get us," admitted striker Ben T. Schmidt. "They saw how we were dominating the opposition and made it their goal to take us down."
But the MBBS'ers rose to the challenge time and again to turn away their youthful challengers on their road of destruction to the intramural title. The lads of FC MB United finished their worthy campaign with an unblemished 9-0 record to bring the title back home to the MBBS campus.
"While there isn't actually a trophy involved, we were supposed to get T-Shirts for winning the title," Schmidt added. "But for some reason they never printed them for us."
That slight still sits in the craw of the seminary ballers.
"We'll remember that when next season rolls around," continued Schmidt.
As for next season, the hopes remain high for the seminary squad. With two open spots on the team for next year, the competition for roster spots should be keen.
"Well, actually, we'll take anybody," Schmidt admitted.
Good luck next season, FC MB United! And thanks for bringing a measure of glory back home to MBBS.
"I'm proud of the team," commented Menno Simons from his perch on canvas in the hallowed halls of a seminary named in his honour.

Welcome to Sembits

You've found the new home of MBBS goings and comings. On these posts you will find, at least once or twice a week, what a friend of mine called "balderdash and myths" of MBBS. I hope to provide a place where friends can come together and swap stories and pictures of their seminary experience.
If you're new to the seminary community: Welcome. (Even if you don't have anything to say and only want to snoop around a bit.)
Warning: Don't take everything you read on this blog as Andy's honest truth. Andy has been known to embellish details for the sake of a story from time to time. (I think it's happened once, maybe twice.)

Free Pizza

Today we (and by "we" I mean my friend Cam Priebe and I, and we invited our other friend Eugene Trofimenko who is the Financial Aid Director here at MBBS, but he didn't want to come with us because he probably doesn't like either pizza or us, I'm not sure which) welcomed a new staff member - Jason Hiebert - to our ranks. Cam and I bought Jason lunch today because this morning when we came in we found a bunch of free coupons to an "all you can eat" pizza buffet in the neighborhood. Score!
According the Cam, "It was literally the least we could do for him."
Jason began working as the assistant to the academic dean, Lynn Jost.
Jason graduated from MBBS in late April with some kind of degree that makes him a fancy pants theologian. I know he's smart because he wrote an article in a recent copy of "In Touch" magazine that we produce. He also won an award given by faculty for writing a really good senior paper. (That's him in the middle of the picture receiving his award. On his left is professor Valerie Rempel and on his right is professor Tim Geddert.)
Welcome Jason.