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Biblical Counseling Distinctives Focus of Leadership Conference

Biblical Counseling Distinctives Focus of Leadership Conference

by | Mar 9, 2020

Drs. Christopher Cone, Jeff Cox, Tom Baurain and Luther Smith field questions during the 2020 Christian Leaders’ Conference. 

Calvary’s Christian Leader’s Conference featured faculty papers on biblical counseling and psychology.

Calvary’s annual Christian Leader’s Conference addressed, “What makes counseling biblical?” Dr. Luther Smith, Biblical Counseling chair, was heavily involved in planning the event and said, “It was well attended on campus and online,” with about 60 persons total, “a mix of students, as well as pastors and counselors.” He also said, “The response was really good… people had lots of questions. They enjoyed the information and the thoughtful discussion.”

The conference featured presentations by a variety of Calvary faculty, including Dr. Smith, Dr. Jeff Cox, and Dr. Christopher Cone. Dr. Smith noted that, even though the presenters had not discussed the details of their presentations together, “We were saying the same thing. And that was really encouraging to me… If I mentioned [a concept] in a sentence, someone else would mention it in a paper; if I mentioned it in a paragraph, someone else would mention it in two.”

Arianna Erixon-Bova, a senior at Calvary, said, “it was wonderful to sit down and hear scholars and academics bring everything back to the root of all truth… [The conference] encouraged and pleaded for us to go back to Scripture and find the truth there, first and finally. The speakers explained that we do not need to stray away from psychology, but we do need to make sure that it is rooted in Scripture when we do use it.”

Bill Stebbins, Calvary’s Chief Development Officer, was highly involved in the logistics of the conference, and said, “I think the highlight is when you have a roundtable or the discussion, because now it’s question and answer, and you have multiple personalities up there.”

The papers presented at the conference are slated for publication as a book later in the year.

Articles Presented at the Christian Leader’s Conference

(Follow links to watch videos of the presentations)

Psychology: A Discipline or a Philosophy?  | Dr. Luther Smith

Dr. Smith’s first presentation discussed the relationship between believers and psychology and the respective consequences of defining psychology as a discipline or worldview.

Deconstructing Psychology | Dr. Christopher Cone

Dr. Cone addressed the church’s leeriness towards psychology and how the church can appropriately approach and utilize the discipline.

The Priority of Scripture | Dr. Thomas Baurain

Dr. Baurain addressed what elements must be present in biblical counseling for it to truly be biblical, focusing especially on the centrality of the Bible.

Where Can Wisdom Be Found? | Dr. Jeff Cox

Dr. Cox’s paper referenced Job and Proverbs, investigating a biblical ethic for the source of wisdom.

Specific Distinctiveness of This Approach: Consistent Application of Literal Grammatical Historical Hermeneutic | Dr. Luther Smith

Dr. Smith’s second presentation discussed how the distinctive of consistently applying a literal grammatical historical hermeneutic affects the discipline of biblical counseling.

General Distinctiveness of This Approach: A Discipline Born from the Biblical Worldview Followed | Dr. Christopher Cone

Dr. Cone’s second paper took a more general look at the distinctives of biblical counseling and how the biblical worldview influences the view of counseling and psychology.

Warriors Adding Cross Country

Warriors Adding Cross Country

by | Mar 3, 2020

Calvary University is pleased to announce the official addition of Cross Country as the fifth and sixth programs in the Calvary Athletic Department.  Coach Benjamin Hill will take the helm of both programs in a volunteer capacity.  He is excited to build the programs and compete at the NCCAA level in the fall.

Benjamin Hill is no novice to endurance sports.  He understands what it takes to mentally and physically condition in order to be successful as an athlete.  He competed both in distance races and in strongman events from 2010–2015 across the Midwest.  His belief is that victory comes from the action steps taken to grow and improve day-by-day.  Growing leads to wins, and this is his encouragement to his athletes as the first Head Cross-Country Coach for the Calvary Warriors.  “Do you not know that those who run in a race all run, but only one receives the prize? Run in such a way that you may win” (1 Corinthians 9:14).

Prior to joining Calvary, Coach Hill started as a dual-enrolled student at Calvary in 2007.  Upon training in distance running and strength conditioning at MCC–Longview, he graduated in 2011 and then returned to Calvary.  He earned his bachelor’s degree in Biblical Studies with a Greek emphasis in 2015.   He will be finishing his master’s degree in Bible and Theology at Calvary in May of 2020. 

Coach Hill grew up in South Kansas City, Missouri, where most of his family still lives.  He resides with his wife, Rebecca, and his newborn baby girl, Julia, within running distance of the campus.

A Reluctant Pilgrim: “One Voice” Premieres Thursday, March 12

A Reluctant Pilgrim: “One Voice” Premieres Thursday, March 12

by | Feb 29, 2020

Amy Garlett, who plays Tamar, and Tori Roberts, who plays Tabitha, rehearse for One Voice with the rest of the Jerusalem crowd.

“We are a family knit together by the deep examination of the richest of texts… A family with a foundation of shared faith.”

Shema Yisrael Adonai Eloheinu Adonai echad.
Barukh shem k’vod malkhuto l’o lam va’ed!
Ani Adonai eloheikhem.

Hear, O Israel! The Lord is our God, the Lord is one.
Blessed is the name of God’s glorious kingdom forever!
Your God, Yahweh, am I.

So begins the prologue of One Voice. So began the unexpected journey of a very reluctant pilgrim. A few years ago, our university president, Dr. Cone, asked me to produce a biblical show. “Something with Biblical themes and values?” I asked. “Redemptive themes? A Christ figure as a protagonist? Something with definite allegorical parallels to the Christian experience? A modern parable?” 

“No,” he said, “a real, Bible times, Bible character, biblically true story, dramatized.” (Apologies toDr. Cone for the paraphrase!)

My heart sank. My mind was screaming! “AHHHhh! No…not a bathrobe musical! Shoot me now!”

But he wanted one. If I were going to do Shakespeare or a classic every four years, he wanted a biblical production as in Sight and Sound every four years. I protested we certainly didn’t have the technical capacity to pull off Noah, but he patiently steered me back to what was possible.

I went home, and the dam burst as excuses flooded the turbines! I can’t do cheesy Christian drama. There’s no good material. It all makes me gag. Often, the genre is emotionally manipulative. It’s end result is frequently counterproductive; it’s intended for unbelievers to encounter the truth but instead they’re offended by the method, while Christians remain in their comfort zone. Everything I’ve ever taught about conflict, character, plot, theatricality, and truth will be violated. My students will crucify me. At the very least, they’ll  brand me, and I will be forced to join Hester Prynne, wearing instead a scarlet H, a hypocrite condemned to roam the earth to the end of my days!

The boss was not to be dissuaded, so I settled down in my white leather office chair for a blue funk. I didn’t even know where to begin. It was then a wee niggle at the back of my cranium began to tickle. Many years ago, my mentor and good friend, Deborah Craig Claar, had given me a musical she had written with a collaborator, Robert Sterling. She had recently dusted it off for two large churches who had commissioned them to expand it to a full length musical. Twenty years ago, it was one of the few overtly Christian pieces of theatre I actually liked. So I took another look.

Fast forward to this moment with a cast of 27 intrepid players at Calvary, a distinctly Christian University. This is a cast composed primarily of Calvary undergraduates, but in our ranks are a retired Bible and theology prof, a mother getting a masters in education, a young woman with operatic training who once had high hopes of being a nun, two retired Sergeant Majors, an IT specialist, and the list goes on. A disparate group, but one rich in community. We are a family knit together by the deep examination of the richest of texts. A family with a bridge built of questions. A family with a foundation of shared faith. A family who understands what Jesus meant when He asked us to take up our cross daily. A family who desires truth in the inmost parts. A family with one voice.

For years my metaphor for creating story has been undergirded by making the word flesh from John 1. Never have I ever attempted to take the greatest story ever told and give it flesh. Examining the goals and obstacles of these flesh and blood biblical characters has made them come to life for me as no Bible study or sermon ever has. Meditating on their given circumstances, their humanity, and their fears has been a key to understanding my own. And so this reluctant pilgrim ends her journey surprised by joy, humbled by God’s gift, and standing in awe. May it bless you in the same way. Ani adonai eloheikhem!

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Calvary Grad Uses Media in International Ministry

Calvary Grad Uses Media in International Ministry

by | Feb 28, 2020

Seminary graduate Dr. Leandro Tarrataca serves as president of ABECAR in Brazil.

Dr. Leandro Tarrataca graduated from Calvary Theological Seminary with a Master of Theological Sciences in 2007 and headed home to Brazil to put his degree to work. Now he serves as president of ABECAR (Brazilian Association of Culture, Education, Service, and Religion), a ministry focused on discipling believers through various forms. Tarrataca said, “The main thing we do is making disciples; that’s our Great Commission. In order to get that task done, we have different areas in process.”

ABECAR works to fulfill the Great Commission through strategic church planting, running children’s camps throughout the year, children’s programs, and media ministry. The camp program frequently involves teams coming from American churches to host English camps. The idea for the children’s program was developed by Tarrataca’s wife, Julie; she created a plan for buses to pick up underprivilaged children, who receive meals, help with homework, and recreation time. Tarrataca said, “It’s not only social work, it’s a social program because we want them to come to Christ.” He said over 1,000 children have been through the program, and as they grow up, they are becoming “doctors and dentists and teachers” instead of turning to drugs or other destructive habits.

The media aspect of ABECAR’s ministry sprouted from Back to the Bible’s work in Brazil, and follows a similar format. In the past, Tarrataca was “the voice of Back to the Bible to the Portuguese speaking world,” and he brings that experience to his current work developing podcasts and video sermons. He loves the analytics of modern technology that gives ABECAR statistics on their viewership base that has reached over 360,000 viewers in Brazil, Japan, and throughout Europe and the Americas. The media presence also plays a critical role in the educational side of ministry. ABECAR offers long-distance education across the country, supplemented with on-campus modulars that train believers and pastors in their faith.

When Tarrataca started his own education, he said, “[I knew] that I would be engaged with some sort of media ministry… that was my crystal-clear thing that I should be doing.” The other aspects of his current work—children’s ministry, church planting, and directing ABECAR—were unexpected. As he evaluated the ways God is working in Brazil, he said, “I really think we have to answer these things, not based on feelings, but on what Scripture says… I think our aim of making disciples is a biblical command… [and] we see people coming to Christ and being baptized… [So] first, what we’re doing is biblical; second, people are coming to Christ; and third, people are growing spiritually.” Based on that, he said he fully trusts that God is working in and through the ministry in Brazil.

Dr. Tarrataca with wife Julie, son Leonardo, and daughter Melina.

Dr. Tarrataca serves as president of ABECAR, a distance learning system that is roughly translated, “A theological faculty as close as your television.” 

Dr. Tarrataca’s personal website is “Communicating Hope in the Digital World.”


Calvary Hangs On to Defeat Central Christian, Advance in MCCC Tournament

Calvary Hangs On to Defeat Central Christian, Advance in MCCC Tournament

by | Feb 22, 2020

The sixth-seeded Warriors escaped the third-seeded Saints, in the first round of the Midwest Christian College Conference tournament, winning a tightly contested game 77-74.

Calvary started the game very well, as they have done against Central Christian before, opening the game on a 15-4 run. The Warriors were able to keep the high-scoring Saints in check over the first eight minutes, yet despite the great defense only led by nine. CCCB began to make a run and five minutes later the game was tied at 21. The Saints grabbed the lead and led for the rest of the half, extending it to as many as five. But Calvary was able to cut it down to just two and trailed at halftime 33-31.

The second half picked up right where the first left off, with both teams able to answer one another at both the offensive and defensive ends. Five minutes into the half Central was able to pull away slightly and held a 42-37 advantage. The Warriors were always able to keep the Saints within six points and with just over 11 minutes left back-to-back and-1 conversions from Zeb Green and Braydon Unruh turned a five-point deficit into a one-point lead, 51-50. This sparked the offense for Calvary and the Warriors pushed the lead back to 12 with five minutes left. The Saints wouldn’t go quietly, and with two and a half minutes left the Warrior lead was just 5, 71-66. CCCB cut the lead to three multiple times over the last two minutes and had a chance to tie the game at the free-throw line trailing by two, but couldn’t. The Saints had a shot at the buzzer to tie, but it didn’t fall as Calvary held on 77-74. 

The third time was the charm for Calvary, after falling to the Saints by two and four points earlier in the season the Warriors were able to pick up a win when it mattered. After the game head coach Matt Sanders called it, “A huge win, we played tremendous defense, and the starters were fantastic.” The Warriors only scored three bench points in the game and only knocked down one three-point shot. “Winning with only one three is incredible, but really points to our total team defense. Zeb Green and Benjamin Jones were fantastic at that end.”

Green not only played well defensively but also led the Warriors in scoring with a big-time 25 point, 19 rebound double-double. He now owns the top three individual rebounding games in the country this season. Braydon Unruh had 15 points and 7 rebounds, Benjamin Jones had 13 and 8. Jay Lems had 12 including the Warriors’ only three-pointer.

Kedron Rollings led the Saints with 24 points. 

With the win, Calvary advances to the semifinals on Friday, where they will take on the number two seed Barclay for a place in the conference championship game.

Calvary Runs Past Manhattan in First Round of Tournament

Calvary Runs Past Manhattan in First Round of Tournament

by | Feb 22, 2020

After a shaky first quarter, Calvary found their groove and beat the Thunder 81-52.

It was a relatively low scoring first quarter as both teams struggled to score. Calvary led for most of the period, but a Thunder three on their final possession sent Manhattan into the quarter break with a 14-12 lead. On the first possession of the second quarter, Taylor Hunter knocked down a three to retake the lead and Calvary never looked back. The Warriors opened the quarter on a 12-0 run and kept the intensity going on both offense and defense outscoring the Thunder 28-11 in the second. Calvary led 40-25 going into halftime.

The game was never in doubt in the second half as the Warriors quickly pushed the lead to 20. Manhattan tried to make a run multiple times in the third, but every time the Warriors had an answer and never allowed the Thunder to close the gap. Calvary was led by as many as 25 in the period and went to the fourth quarter up 69-45. In the fourth, the Warriors’ defense simply overwhelmed a fatigued Manhattan team holding the Thunder to just 4 points over the final eight minutes, easily taking the game by a 29 point margin, 81-52.  

Head Coach Tressa Shoemaker was pleased with her team after the first round victory saying, “We were ready to play from the start defensively, but it took us a little bit of time to get the same rhythm offensively. Once we did, we never looked back and are excited about the next game.” 

The Warriors scored 57 points in the second and third quarters alone, connecting on nine threes in those quarters, and shooting 32% from three on the game. Calvary also had 14 assists compared to 11 turnovers, to go along with 21 steals. 

Taylor Hunter led the scoring for Calvary with a game-high 25 points and 6 rebounds. Avery Kornstad had 19 points and a team-high 7 rebounds, both Kornstad and Hunter connected on 4 three-pointers. Anna Davis added 11 points and 6 rebounds. 

Kennedy Wilson led the Thunder with an 18 point, 12 rebound double-double. Her 12 rebounds were a game-high.

With the win Calvary, the second seed advances to the semifinals of the Midwest Christian College Tournament. The Warriors will play Barclay, the number three seed, on Friday with a spot in the championship game on the line.