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Professor takes sabbatical to
New England

This fall semester, Dr. Jeff Arthurs, the speech commu- nication chairman at Multnomah Bible College, went on a five-month sabbatical to Gordon Conwell Seminary in Massachusetts. While there, he studied under well-known preacher and teacher Haddon Robinson.

"No light bulbs went on. It's not like I learned anything new [under Robinson]," Dr. Arthurs said. Dr. Arthurs did say Robinson clarified many ideas for him in areas such as inductive preaching and the use of imagination in sermons.

While at the seminary, Dr. Arthurs audited two classes: one on church history and one on Buddhism and Hinduism. He read several books including "Desiring God" and "The Grapes of Wrath." He also wrote three articles for an online journal titled Preaching Today.

Dr. Arthurs spent some of his sabbatical touring the area. He, his wife, Elizabeth, and 6-year-old son Daniel, went to the Plymouth Plantation. They also visited Vermont during peak leaf season.

Dr. Arthurs developed a personal mission statement for himself, asking, "Why does God have me on this earth? Who has he made me to be?"

After an afternoon praying and thinking about his gifts and passions, Dr. Arthurs developed the following mission statement: "To communicate the Truth -- capital 'T' truth -- and equip others to do the same."

The screensaver on his computer reads "communicate and equip" to remind him of his mission.

"I had really high expectations of this sabbatical," Dr. Arthurs said, "and it lived up to them or surpassed them."

Mrs. Arthurs said she had a wonderful time in New England. But she wanted snow. "Our first grader really wished for snow," she said. She home schooled her son while in Massachusetts.

On the way to Massachusetts, they visited friends. On the way home, they stopped at Walt Disney World in Orlando, Fla.