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Bruce Fong resigns teaching postition

Dr. Fong leaves Multnomah to become president of Michigan Theological Seminary

In May of 1999, Dr. Bruce Fong will pack up his stuffed moose, Buzz Lightyear action figure and Marvin the Martian floor mat that reads "Welcome, Earthlings" and close the door to his office a final time. Next fall the MBC professor will find himself as president of Michigan Theological Seminary in Plymouth, Mich. Marian O'Connor, the seminary's administrative assistant, said that Dr. Fong has enriched Multnomah's seminary, and he will also help to enrich MTS.

As president of MTS, Dr. Fong sees himself as a service ambassador for the school. He will work toward making the school's name known and toward training students for ministry. He hopes to cast a vision for the school where he will "dream and talk to God more about what he wants with this (MTS) institution," Dr. Fong said.

Dr. Fong said that the miles between where people are and where God wants them tend to make them fearful of His call. "Distance doesn't make a difference to me," Dr. Fong said. "It's for His kingdom."

Questions about God's direction started entering Dr. Fong's mind last year. Although Dr. Fong enjoyed his work at MBC, he wondered if he could do more to serve the Lord. He received a phone call from MTS's chairman of the board last June, asking him to become president. Dr. Fong had declined other job offers, saying his ministry was in Portland as a professor at MBC and as a pastor at Clear Creek Community Church in Gresham. But Dr. Fong said he had "a knowing" in his soul and developed an anticipation over what God might do.

Dr. Fong's ministry at Multnomah began with teaching homiletics part-time at MBC in the mid-'80s. By 1990, he taught full-time, adding Bible, theology, leadership development and pedagogy classes to his workload.

According to Tracy Spitler, a seminary student, Dr. Fong helped her apply the Bible's message to her everyday life. He taught her the relevance of the Old Testament to her life in a way she had never known.

More than anything, Dr. Fong desired to teach students to preach the best they could, without fears or boundaries preventing them from serving the Lord. Dr. Fong said he wants Multnomah students to continue to embrace the Scriptures as the only way to determine their faith and only guideline for how to live their lives.

Although Dr. Fong remembers many things from his years at Multnomah, one memory stands out from the rest. In November of 1990, he realized that many seminary students spent Thanksgiving alone, throwing together for their Thanksgiving dinner whatever food sat in their cupboards. Because many of Dr. Fong's relatives lived outside the area, he and his wife decided to open their home to the seminary students, inviting them to Thanksgiving dinner the next year. A tradition began.

One of Spitler's greatest memories of Dr. Fong is when she visited his home. She said that when she observed him outside of school, "I was able to see that he lived out what he taught in class."

Now, just what is Buzz Lightyear doing in Dr. Fong's office? According to Mrs. O'Connor, the foot-tall hero was an accomplice to Dr. Fong's "mischievous sense of humor." Dr. Fong told students that if they put money in Buzz Lightyear, he would play for them. But Buzz Lightyear also plays just fine without their money, Mrs. O'Connor said.