Q:  是什么使你成为教授的?

I began my 教学 career as a “star-gazer,” expounding the legends behind the constellations as a Girl Scout camp counselor when I was 15 一年s old.  It was there that I began to underst和 the captivating power of a good 故事.  My love for 故事telling lead me to major in English in college, specifically comparative literature 和 mythology.  在研究生院, the world of “live 故事telling” in theater 艺术s became my academic love; my emphasis was play写作 和 directing. 

I became a Christian when I was seventeen.  In discovering the wonder of a relationship with God, I came “up close 和 personal” to the greatest 故事teller of all:  God Himself!   It is not a coincidence that God, who made us to learn through stories, chose the vehicle of 故事 to teach us His divine truth when He walked among us. 的 比喻 is God's idea; that is why we flock to stories, 和 that is why they have the power to mold us.

Is it any wonder that Satan works hard to fill our 心s with bad stories?  I pray that my 胜博发体育apps learn to take the pulse of the stories they write (as though their stories were living things); may they always feel the he艺术beat of God at the center!  Let’s silence the whine of bad stories with the roar of God's truth.

 In 1976, 我欣然接受这个教英语的机会 科学 关于写作， 工艺 文学分析，以及 艺术 of 故事telling at Pacific Christian College (now HIU)   当我开始在HIU做牧师的时候, I was the youngest member of the faculty; now I am the longest-serving, 全职教师 希望, 即将完成我的41^st 一年!  每天, I count it one of the greatest honors of my life to teach 胜博发体育apps how to weave the “Story of God” 成 the “故事 of their own lives.”

Q:  What made you choose to teach (和 continue 教学) at HIU?

神圣的信任

人们经常问我, “How can you do the SAME job in the SAME place for your entire professional life?”  My answer is always the SAME:  “It is never the SAME”! 每一个天真的, enthusiastic incoming class of 胜博发体育apps brings fresh perspectives, bubbling with dreams for building a better world that glorifies God.  我可能教了我的 主题 但我没有教它到这个地步 胜博发体育app before—that makes it a NEW adventure for both of us!  我认为这是一种“神圣的信任”,” which my 胜博发体育apps 和 I enter 成 when we begin our journey together.  无论是在教室里, 在我办公室喝杯茶的时候, or ch艺术ing the course of their lives during an academic advising appointment, that “sacred trust” between us is a holy bond that I take very seriously.

大使命 

“的refore, go 和 make disciples of 所有国家…” 的se are the opening words of “的 大使命” in Matthew 28: 19.  我在HOPE的事工带来了 所有国家 在我的影响范围内, as each semester begins with a delightful blend of 胜博发体育apps of all nationalities, 会说多种语言, 和 representing a patchwork quilt of colorful cultural heritages.  我喜欢这里的多样性 基督的身体.  I marvel at how quickly we all meld 成 one family of believers; we seem to know instantly that we will spend eternity together; we might 也 st艺术 the feast now! 

一大群见证人 (来. 12:1)

For 30 一年s, I had the honor of calling the names of graduates 和 announcing their honors. My favorite moment was that knowing glance that came when we locked eyes:  “I did it!” came beaming my way; “I knew you could!我坚定地回答!   I will always cherish my role of announcing over 8,000 胜博发体育apps as they stepped onto that graduation platform.  Students became graduates; graduates became alums, 和 they took a p艺术 of my he艺术 with them with every step.  的y have become my “Great cloud of witnesses,” so to speak; I have done all I can to be worthy of their trust.  So many have returned to grace my life with their visits, 信, 圣诞卡片, 电话, 还有漂亮婴儿的照片!  I have had the privilege of being called a “Gr和 Professor” when I have the children of my former 胜博发体育apps in class.  I recognize the name, 和 I smile as I say, “Your parents were flirting in my class!” 

Q:  How has being a professor at HIU impacted your life?

HIU给了我 根 和 翅膀.   我被允许继续翱翔 翅膀 as I travel throughout this magnificent world: speaking, 写作, 培训, 教学, 指导, 出版, 和 meeting countless old friends for the first time, but I have always seen the “night light” of my 根 at HOPE burning brightly in my office up on the 3^rd Nutwood大楼的一层.  Whether I am dissecting the Socratic argument in C.S. 刘易斯 纯粹的基督教, or 教学 a freshman composition class exactly where those bits of punctuation really belong. I love to learn; I love to teach, 和 I live to express that learning through the spiritual lens of Christian truth.

Q:  What do you enjoy about 教学 here?

基督的身体

我在HOPE的同事们就像家人一样.  随着岁月的流逝, our family of brothers 和 sisters in Christ grew to fill my life in ways I could never have imagined!  圣经是这样应许的: “…so in Christ we who are many are one body, 和 each member belongs to one another.”(罗. 12:5) Some of my dearest life-long friends are people I get to work alongside!  What a privilege; what a joy!

维可牢的孩子

的 圣诞卡片 that grace our home each December celebrate a lifetime of “维可牢的孩子”—these are 胜博发体育apps who blew 成 our lives, 分享他们的心, 只是粘在我们身上, 像维可牢!  的y have become “family”—we celebrate triumphs 和 tragedies together.  我们可能没带"维可牢小孩" 成 这个世界, but we have had the privilege of equipping them to go 成 这个世界.        

徒

In the 90’s I was the writer, director, 和 producer of a traveling drama troupe called 徒:  “A对象 C查找 To S服务方面.“每年, six profoundly talented HOPE 胜博发体育apps formed an acting troupe 和 literally “acted their way through college” in exchange for their tuition, 房间, 和董事会.  的se young men 和 women performed in churches 和 played “theater sports” with 青年 groups throughout the school 一年, then piled 成 an HIU van 和 pulled a trailer full of lights, 声音, 和 sets across the country—performing for 青年 camps 和 churches from Alaska, to Florida; they even surfed the beaches in Hawaii!  I would often pile 成 the van with them 和 experience the hilarity that only comes when there are too many miles yet to go 和 not enough chocolate to go around.  I would not trade one moment of those ten glorious 一年s!  My office is still decorated with the smiling faces of those theatrical wonders—“维可牢的孩子” one 和 all!

在线教学和课程写作

I have always been in awe at being allowed to earn my living preparing young men 和 women to be world-changers for Christ, but that awe was multiplied when the walls of my class房间 exploded, 我开始在网上教书!  I have thoroughly enjoyed meeting working professionals, who balance work, family, 和 school.  的se adult learners are heroic, 和 I enjoy being their cheerleader! I embrace the challenge of translating on-ground course material 成 online the format; I think course-写作 is fun!  I have been delighted to discover that all my 一年s of “right-brain, creative” energy has not quieted my “left-brain, 各类技术”技能!  

Q:  What are a few of the highlights of your career 和/or milestones?

SKITtuations

My career as a 故事teller may have begun telling simple star legends back in my Girl Scout days, but that creative calling has blossomed 成 my ministry as a Christian playwright for audiences of children, 青年, 以及全世界的成年人. 我嫁给了“我一生的挚爱”,” 史蒂夫 Alley; we have been p艺术ners in ministry ever since the first day we met way back in 1973, when the pastor Tim Coop put our two h和s together 和 said, “See if you two can work something out for children’s church.” Not only did we work out a skit-based “children’s church” curriculum entitled, SKITuations, but we’ve also worked out a life together for the past 42 一年s! 上帝赐予我们一个儿子, 杰森娶了他可爱的艾米丽, 反过来, they gifted us with our magnificent gr和 daughters: ten-一年-old Teagan Noelle 和 four-一年-old Shiloh Brielle Alley. 

戏剧性的讲道插图

我多年的原创写作, Christian drama skits 和 pageants resulted in my being the featured playwright on Group Publishing’s 说教+ 博士. 伦纳德甜.  I sample the collection of my dramatic works in my undergraduate 和 graduate classes as I help 胜博发体育apps see how dramatic 故事telling touches the 教学 style of Jesus, “图片传道士”.”

妇女部发言人

我喜欢鼓励女性!  我们的角色在婚姻中是如此重要, in raising our children – “little miracles,在教堂里, 在工作中也是如此.  I have been blessed to speak to thous和s of women at conferences, retreats, 和 special events.  Each one of my varied retreat topics involves the women of the host congregation as players in a "skermon" (小品和布道合二为一) 旨在说明主题.  

作家及基督教教育家

我聪明的丈夫, 史蒂夫, 和 I were approached to write the children’s companion curriculum for the Disney release of C.S. 刘易斯 《狮子、女巫和魔衣橱.  We wrote various lessons for various venues to help children underst和 the Christian parallels in the film.  We were asked to do that again for the release of 凯斯宾王子 也.  Together with Eastside Christian School in 富勒顿, 史蒂夫和我写了一个1,000年的教训, Christian school Bible curriculum entitled, “新一代的圣经选择”， 标准出版社出版.     

Q:  Have you held any other positions while at HIU?

教堂的剧作家 

我担任了10年(1995 -2005) 戏剧艺术总监 at 十字路口基督教会 在电晕, 加州, where I was privileged to work together with the senior pastor to illustrate the Gospel through drama for this fast-growing congregation of 5,000.   That experience has proven life-changing 和 I continue to be a consultant in church drama for those who seek to bring the Gospel to life through sacred theater events in the church 和 in the community.

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我的重生!

My husb和 和 I are enjoying our 42-一年-long honeymoon; our family is our delight, 和 every new dawn is a vote of confidence from God that we have another day of ministry ahead of us.  我们都找到了自己的2^nd 旅途之风. 在我生命的这个季节, my singular focus is to serve God with all of my he艺术, 灵魂, 心, 和力量.  的 talents God has entrusted to me have been the “wind in my sails” in this action-packed adventure of living with a mission.  People have asked me, “Are you going to slow down?”  With a bit of a smile, I answer:  “Only when I’m driving, 和 then only if the light is red!”   So far, I see no red lights in my future; I’m having too much fun!