Where Are They Now? Dr. John Whitcomb.

About Dr. John Whitcomb:
*Taught from 1981-2012 on the New York campus
*Also taught in Florida, Owen Sound, Philippines, Brazil, Germany, Argentina

Get to Know Dr. John Whitcomb:

What did you enjoy most about teaching at the Bible Institute?
The enthusiastic response of the students to the teaching of the Word of God.

What are some of your favorite memories from the Bible Institute?
Young people being illuminated, encouraged, and enlightened to take the message of God’s Word all over the world, and international students coming to the Bible Institute who then took God’s Word to their country.

What makes the Bible Institute different from other schools?
It’s very biblical and not compromised in any area — creation, eschatology, and everything in between! God is Alpha and Omega and everything in between.

What has been your favorite part about teaching God's Word throughout your lifetime?
The fact I don’t have to prove the Bible. The Holy Spirit does the work.

What do you enjoy most about your current time of life?
Staying at home a little bit more to catch up on my desk work. Being able to do radio and the writing of articles and books from home.

Who are some people who have been an encouragement to you? Why? What have they done?
Tom Davis and Marshall Wicks, who were former students of mine. They are now staff at the Bible Institute, and they encourage me every time I see them. Can I mention one more? Jack Wyrtzen! (big chuckle) He was bubbly, glowing, and loved sharing the Gospel. He acted like he loved Jesus!

What is one thing you want to leave with the next generation of Bible students and future Bible teachers?
My life verse, 2 Timothy 2:2: “The things which you have heard from me in the presence of many witnesses, entrust these to faithful men who will be able to teach others also.”

Dr. Whitcomb is considered a key spokesman for the modern biblical creationism movement, a pursuit that began after he was brought up learning the theory of evolution but was convicted that those teachings did not line up with the Bible. He used his breadth of knowledge in history and the Old Testament to teach and write extensively on the topic, including his books The Early Earth, The World that Perished, Esther: The Triumph of God’s Sovereignty, The Genesis Flood, and Coming to Grips with Genesis: Biblical Authority and the Age of the Earth, which was written in his honor.

Dr. Whitcomb also has a particular passion for global ministry, stemming from a childhood in Asia and service in World War II. He helped establish a church in Puerto Rico and did missions work in Peru and China. He was president of the Board of Spanish World Gospel Missions for more than 40 years.

After earning his bachelors at Princeton University, Dr. Whitcomb received his masters and doctorate at Grace Theological Seminary, where he also taught theology for nearly 40 years. He is the founder and president of Whitcomb Ministries.

Click here for some memories of Dr. Whitcomb from the associate academic dean at the Bible Institute's Owen Sound campus, Doug Reider. 

Remember When.

Have a remember when you want to share? Send your thoughts to alumni@wol.org, and feel free to include a photo!

Linda (Klump) Moser (1976)
Someone brought a sheep — yes, a sheep — into the dorm above the dining hall.

Sylinda (Birchard) Alfred (1978)
I remember when it poured rain at graduation. We rushed into the tabernacle very discouraged, and Pete got us all singing “Cheer Up Ye Saints of God!”

Rosario (Baez) Farese (1984)
I remember the Snoopy theme song being played on the piano and Dr. Davis’ and Dr. Wicks’ humor.

Jodi Rabquer (1992)
When Martin jumped in front of my tube at Snow Camp to keep me from hitting a tree!

Richard Kroeger (1993)
I remember when there was no snow for Snow Camp. Everyone prayed, and then on the third week, it started to snow, and it didn’t stop the rest of the year.

Jonathan VanDyk (1994)
I remember Youth Reachout with Rick Warken in the summer of 1994.

Brad Schmidt (1995)
I will never forget the Open Air Evangelism trip to Chicago and the great time we had in the van ride out there.

Andrea (Miller) Barnard (1996)
I remember Daniel White getting hit in the eye with a ping pong ball and having to spend time in the hospital.

Tara (Eddy) Spurlin (1997)
Housing in the Japan dorm and riding bikes everywhere (skirts and all!) because it was so far away from main campus. All 11 girls in the dorm were close and bonded deeply through evening devotions, study hours, and countless hours of stories and laughs.

Robert DeWitt (2000)
Open Air Evangelism in New York City with Greg Valentine.

Teresa (Davis) Green (2001, 2002)
Traveling with the drama team and playing games during study hours. I was very close to my dorm-mates and loved the time we spent in the Word, praising God through music and encouraging each other in Christ.

Adam Gibson (2002)
Getting an eight-foot gator off the skatepark during junior camp.

Brett Owen (2006, 2007)
I let my roommate duct-tape me to a chair outside Australia dorm next to the road at night.

John Eichelberger (2012)
Being part of the last class year when men had to wear ties.

Nathan Tse (2012)
Two words: Snow Camp!

Refresh: What we deserve.

By Dr. Marshall Wicks

I was walking across campus one day and greeted one of our current students, “Hey, how are you doing?” I think we generally expect a somewhat innocuous answer to such a greeting, but the answer I got was far from that. The student answered, “Better than I deserve.” Wow! What a perfect answer to a common question. It opens so many opportunities to draw a person into a very meaningful and spiritual conversation.

So many times, we think to ourselves that life is unfair. I remember one Calvin and Hobbes strip where Calvin laments that life is never unfair in his favor.

But life is always unfair in our favor. If life were truly fair, we would all be spending eternity in Hell, and Jesus would never have come to this planet and suffered the humiliation of the cross. 

This made me think about Jesus’ Gospel presentation in the book of Matthew. We know this passage as the Sermon on the Mount. Matthew is probably the first New Testament book written and as such lays down a number of benchmarks for all ensuing Scripture. Before Matthew tells us anything else about Jesus’ ministry, he lays out for all to see a simple and “user-friendly” version of the Gospel — a Gospel for the weak in spirit, a Gospel for those who hunger, a Gospel that comes free of charge. But it is also a Gospel that changes everything about our perspective on present life. We no longer worry about the trials and tribulations that swirl about us. We now see opportunities where we once saw threats.

The dynamic that changes our worldview is faith. We are now believers. We believe that God is working out a beautiful plan of opportunity for all who accept Him. We believe that nothing can separate us from the love of God that flows to us and through us because of Jesus Christ. Or do we?

Matthew 6:25 reads: “Stop worrying about the affairs of this life.” Perhaps some of us are going through difficult times even as we read this little article. God does not ask us to stop taking actions to remedy such problems, but He does tell us to stop worrying about them.

Worry erodes faith. It causes us to look horizontally and not vertically. It is an attempt to force our will on a situation as opposed to seeing the awesome work of a gracious God unfolding before our eyes.

Matthew goes on to write: “Seek ye first the kingdom of God and His righteousness.” Worry seeks the kingdom of man and our own righteousness. It tries to justify our own version of reality and ignore the worldview set forth in Scripture. Worry is not caused by the problems we encounter; it is a condition of the heart. If our hearts are not changed, we will never have the things added unto us that are promised for those who seek the kingdom of God. 

The next time someone asks how we are doing, we need to see it as an opportunity to remind ourselves and the one who greets us that this life is a whole lot better than any of us deserve.