Page 1 Page 2 Page 3 Page 4 Page 5 Page 6 Page 7 Page 8 Page 9 Page 10 Page 11 Page 12 Page 13 Page 14 Page 15 Page 16 Page 17 Page 18 Page 19 Page 20UP CLOSE AND CANDID with Darren Gordon INTERVIEW BY: KARA HARMS What were you doing before you came to Briercrest and how did you end up here? I was teaching at Simpson University in Redding, California. The story of how we ended up here is quite amazing actually. Last year was a very challenging year financially at Simpson. We were told in December (2015) to expect significant cuts. I was the division chair for Theology and Ministry and submitted a report on the progress of our intent to restructure the Cross-Cultural Studies program and in the four ministry programs. I submittedthisreportonJanuary4andtheonlyresponseIwasgivenwastogorestructure the entire Theology and Ministry Division to be two majors and to eliminate two or three professors. So at this point, Erin and I began to pray and to look to see where God might be leading us next. I had hoped to stay, since Erin was just into her second year at a new teaching position, teaching grade six, seven, and eight English. I was encouraged as we worked together as faculty to look for creative ways to cut the budget without losing faculty positions, and in March I received my contract for the following year. But in April, I was called into a meeting and was told that I had to eliminate two positions from our division. Back in January, when we first started praying and seeking God, I would keep up to date with open positions within the Council for Christian Colleges and Universities (CCCU). I saw a position announced at Briercrest and discussed it briefly with Erin. We didn’t give it a lot of consideration at the time though, because we had thought that if we had to move, we might as well look for something closer to family in Oregon and Washington. Well, when my position was eliminated in April, we began to look in more earnest where God was leading us. I submitted applications to many places but heard very little in response. Then in May, we realized that we needed to submit our plans entirely, being open to God moving us anywhere, even overseas again. We had lived for eight years in Indonesia, Thailand, and Laos, and declared together that we would move into a new season wherever it would be, not restricting God to our preferences. Erin mentioned that night that we should have applied to Briercrest, being open to moving