Wrapping up the first MU Talks season: reflections and highlights

Foreign talks. MU Talks. Welcome to the podcast, the last one of the season.

Mr. Dr. Rev. Dr. Robert J. Hildebrand, sir, and your co host Aline, welcoming you to the last episode in this season of MU Talks. This is where we wrap things up. Oh, I'm gonna miss that sound.

I'm gonna miss that cry myself to sleep every night.

Yes, every night.

It's been a good season. We had some interesting people in here.

Y. Yeah, we had, we had a good run with the season. It's time for us to wrap it up a little bit and either going a different direction with it and cover different subjects, but we're, we're wrapping this season up. We're going to walk you a little bit through what happened this year. So we launched this, this podcast this first season roughly nine months ago. We had a good run. I want to talk a little bit about some highlights, some of the things that we've learned this past nine months. It's been a. It's been a year.

What a year. You. I was just saying that I was teaching some students in the preaching class this morning and we're preaching through James and one of the verses is you who says, you're going to go to this city today or you're going to go to that town and you're going to do this thing or that. He goes. You don't even know what's going to happen tomorrow. Your life is a vapor. God control. And when we look back over our topics, we start with interesting topic. Interesting topic, Interesting topic, interesting topic.

Covid for like the last six months.

Yeah. So people maybe are getting a little tired of that.

Yeah, I think they are. So do you remember, do you remember back in the day when we could talk about like, let's say Torah and the beauty of Torah or anything else?

Yeah.

But definitely this, this global pandemic has hijacked.

It's been some.

Most of our topics, most of the discussions.

Yeah.

So let's go back through some of the. Some of the episodes. You know, if you are with us on social media and even after we post this. Right. Because we finished the social media live and then the comments can stay there. Can you please Dr. Us off some. Some things if you've learned anything from MU talks. I know thousands of people have listened to MU talks. I mean, I mean from all over the world.

Very popular.

Basically just two continents, but every, like, from all over. And if, if you've heard anything from us that you really enjoyed. This is a celebratory kind of wrapping up of the season. So if you've heard anything, do us a favor and let us know. But we started with catching the vision and telling you our life story. And if you learned anything from that epis, you've learned about God's providence, God's care. I just a quick like secret here. I worked with Rob and we work together in the same university, but we've never had a chance to actually talk about personal lives because it's a professional environment.

Sure.

And yet I got to find out here about your life story.

Yeah.

You know, you. How you married your wife in Chicago. I mean, that was a crazy story.

Yeah.

That accident with the car, that was interesting. So if you're listening, I, I think what I love about, what I love about this episode is people are listening to this episode are like, what was there? She got what. So that's the first episode.

Right, right.

You can listen to that. So that was, that was wonderful to hear about more about your life story and how God has worked. But then we decided out of nowhere, out of prophetic spirit, whatever you believe about that, to talk about fear and following God into the darkness.

Yeah. We both, we've both had chances in life where we've been up against something that's really difficult, really scary, and you don't want to try to go through it, but, you know, you have to take the step of faith. And, and it turns out that was pretty timely for where the world was going to kind of go.

I, I think that was timely.

Yeah.

Let me see. Because here. Okay. I was still expecting to see some of the live people that we have. If you can hear us live, so let us know. But did you get any comments? Anyways, so do let us know. We've had all kinds of interesting things with, with the live thing, but this is one thing I remember from that discussion. I know we've unpacked it in what it means to follow God into the darkness. And we were in a faculty meeting and Dr. Kristen White, Dr. Kristen White, she works here for, for the university. Brilliant, brilliant professor.

Nice, nice lady.

She, I, she had a devotional and I know it was in the time of. We were talking about that and she said something and I, I know we talked about, about in the, in the episode, the fact that God's people come out of Egypt. Right. They come out of Egypt. They get to a point where it was really rough. I mean, it was just really rough. Right. There's a sea in front of them. There's. There's a desert on the right. There's A, there's a mountain on the left, and there's the worst army in the history of humanity back then coming behind them. Right? So it's a tough spot. I mean, it's a really rough spot. But one thing that left such an echo in my mind is that they were exactly where God wanted them.

Right, right, right.

They didn't feel like that. It didn't feel like that at all. Actually. I'm pretty sure if you interviewed some of those people, right. On Mu talks, right. They'll be like, man, this sucks. This. Suck this, Moses. This is the worst thing. Yeah, right. But how does that relate to where we are now? Yeah, right now, today, we are in a quite a tough spot. I got my mask caught in this microphone. It was really funny.

You never, you never can tell what's going to. You know, like, when you look back, you can see God's hand all over stuff and you're like, oh, that's why he did that. And that's why he did that. But when you're in it, you just can't see it. And it's entirely possible that we as a nation, that we as a school, that we as individuals are exactly in that spot. I had some friends on Facebook post something this morning, and I kind of disagreed with it when I first saw it, but I am thinking about it and it was one of those. One. It was one of those plot twists. It goes, plot Twist. What if 2020 turns out to be the best year of your life for unexpected reasons? And most of us are like, no, it's not going to happen.

Funny joke.

But who knows what, you know, when you're looking back, you know, the decisions that you made this year, man, I know lots of people lost a bunch of weight, Some people getting exercise, some of us the other direction. I mean, you know, a lot, a lot of. Who knows where this goes?

Yeah, See, like, it's like medicine. You just put it in your mouth and it really. You don't like it, but maybe it's.

Good for you, right?

But man, I don't like it. Like, no, I didn't like it. I haven't enjoyed it because this year it was rough. I mean, it was really rough for many reasons, but it'd be. It's such an echo of, of a. Of thought to think, are we. Are you in the place where God wants you to be? And how crazy it would it be to accept and to really acknowledge that we are right here? I am not even going to make a summary of where we are. Right. But we're right here with the whole pandemicized, polarized, you know, elections coming up soon. And this is going to be fascinating.

Yeah.

With all. But we're right where God wants us to be.

Right.

And there's a comfort comes to it. But there's also. So usually I don't know if there's another way to follow God, but rather in the darkness.

Yeah.

Following him through. Like just knowing the next step.

Yeah.

But that was a cool episode.

I really love that Faith was easy. Everyone would do it.

And then eight months ago, we talked about grief, loss and so much more with Dr. Jessica Taylor and Rebecca Jones.

Yeah.

From Multimo University.

Right.

You remember anything from that?

I do. I mean, just another interesting episode because you're talking about grief and losing Kobe at the time, and folks are disappointed with that. And now looking back at that, that feels, you know, not quite as significant as some of the huge things that have happened. But on the other hand, all grief, all counseling is grief counseling.

Yes.

So, you know, interesting.

That was an interesting discussion. And it. I really think you're going to enjoy if you go back and listen to that episode because it gave much more than just the loss that was happening there. It talked about diversity and different approaches to the same grief that we were kind of. Kind of blind to. Sometimes we don't know why a whole generation is crying. Somebody that we, you know, we thought it was controversial, the whole situation really being lacking an empathy and lacking a lot of knowledge in that field. I think that's really applicable. And I'm not trying to apply every episode that we've done, but I'm thinking of. Of the suffering that is happening today.

Right.

That. And we don't get it. We don't understand why, like, why, like this guy. And I believe we have much to learn as a society from. From. From a loss. Really?

Yeah.

We had a guest, Dr. Williford, a few times, actually. He came. He came pre Covid and then he came mid Covid. But pre Covid, we had a conversation about. And I thought it was really a time.

I think that was my favorite episode. Just because he's. He's experienced so much and he's seen so many things and just a great guy to look, learn from. And so I definitely recommend folks that are in leadership or interested in vision, things like that. You should really go back and listen to that one. That one.

Talk about leadership, lots of good stuff and the future of Christian Higher Ed. And that was an interesting conversation to talk about future of Christian Higher Ed because I believe we might, maybe in the next season we might have Dr. Willifford again to talk about a different future.

Right, right.

The future has changed. We know for a fact, for a fact that Covid has officially crumbled the industrial era. And with the industrial era passing, we have officially been moved in the digital age. I call it the new digital age because we've been talking about the digital age for a very long time now. In 2005, 2004, 1999, there are articles talking about higher education at the digital age, but it was just because we had computers, not with what we've done with the computers, not what the digital age is doing right now in higher education. So thinking of a change of eras, a change of, of, you know, ages and leadership in that time. I also would love to HEAR Thoughts from Dr. Williford on what it meant for him to lead. Oh man, what a pandemic.

What a difficult time to be a leader. You know, all the, you don't have all the information. It's changing constantly. Everybody's got opinions, polarized world. Tough time to be a leader. It, yeah, it'll be interesting to hear and, and it'll be interesting to see how much, you know, as we come out of this thing, as vaccines come, which they seem to be coming, how quickly it gets out or if it goes longer. And not only that, where, you know, do, do human beings, you know, there's a tendency that human beings like to return to normal, but a lot of folks, including I think yourself, are saying it's going to be different. You know, the world will have changed.

Yeah, it has, it has. There, there, there are smaller events that have changed this world and moved it in a different, different direction.

Right.

I think of 9 11, for example, that has really moved us in a whole different direction, changed the way people travel globally, not just, not just us. And it was something that happened here on US soil. I think it's quite.

Do you think, do you think that this event will be more. It will change the direction, the trajectory of the world more than a 9 11.

So what I'm, what I'm thinking is it's childish to think that something that has stopped the world is not going to change the world really for good? Yeah, this is my, this is my thermometer and my thermostat.

Sure.

Both of them.

Right.

Is we have a partnership in Malnour University with, with a language institute in Papua New Guinea.

Okay.

Now if you know Papua New guinea, you know, how. What a complex, what a beautiful place. It Is Right. But Papua New guinea shut down. It's a place that is highly tribal, you know, in all this. And it shut down as a country. It shut down to such an extent that there was no paper being passed. No paper. They were not allowed to actually pass any paper through. So to that extent. So if Papua New guinea and the, you know, all the places, so many places that are quite remote and removed from the, you know, the main hub of. Of transport and visitation and all that, if those places were really significantly affected by this, how is it that we're not going to be affected? Not only that, I got a chance to be in. To be in a research presentation by EAB and is one of the largest research, educational research organization in US and they put a side by side comparison between the 1920 recession.

Right.

2007, 2008 market crash and. And Covid. The COVID recession. They call it a coverage recession. And Covid is three times higher than the 1920. Interesting in terms of impact.

Right. And so like Wall street values or.

What were they looking at across the board? Like financial implication, job people had to work jobs, you know, all the interesting things that impact education in one way or another. So if you think of places like northern Africa where people have missed right now to planting seasons, minimum two planting seasons they were not allowed to plant. Right. That is significant. That's going to catch up with us in a very brutal way. Right. In America we sneeze and we think we have a cold right now when it comes to. Compared by what's going to happen in the rest of the world that was already really struggling. Right. So yes, I think this is going to be quite, quite significant. Significant.

Yeah. Fascinating.

Quite significant.

You know, I never thought of the fact that the, the remember the, the big 1918, 1919, the Spanish quote unquote, influenza. That was right before the Great depression in the 20s. That's interesting. And put that together. Yep, it will be. Yeah. We'll see where the world goes.

Yeah, we, we definitely will see. But I think it. We're not allowed. You know, when I, when I was a child, I thought like a child. Right. We. I don't think we are allowed to think like children when it comes to if this is really going to impact the world.

Yeah.

Not fatalists, but really realists.

Why do you use the metaphor of children? I. I'm not with that yet.

Well, the, the immaturity in terms of immaturity.

Okay, right.

Should just be. Not that children don't. Are not wise and they don't have Wisdom, but really childish in terms of, oh, everything's going to be fine, nothing's going on. Right. We don't have a sense of time. Right. Every, you know, everything happens now. That's another, you know, I, I'm a father of, of a four year old and right now, like, I don't, I don't know if you're going to tell me it's going to be late and I have no concept of what happened yesterday. Everything is happening right now and whatever's going to happen now, we play now. So from that perspective, I don't think we are, we have any excuse to. But I feel that because of the, the pandemic and we had an episode here that I think was brilliant about collective trauma. Because of this, we do react very, very here and now.

Yeah, right.

Looking up a little bit, I think we need to brace for, for changes that are happening that are quite disruptive.

Yeah.

Especially traveling.

Especially education too. Education, yeah.

Yes, yes. Education is more in the change of eras, I do believe. Had a chance to take a poke at it, do some research myself about that. And I think there is, there is some significant change that will come to higher education with the change of eras. The industrial, Our higher education was built on an industrial model. Right. Economies of scale. Boom, boom, boom. Let's get through. I think there's going to be some significant change when it comes to the digital age, I think. But yeah. Much to discuss about that.

Yeah.

Do you remember, do you remember, Rob, when we had the beautiful luxury to talk about the beauty of Torah?

Yeah, yeah. It was a different time. Yes.

And that is actually the last episode. Seven months ago.

There we go.

Seven months ago to the day before things went down. Before things went down miserably for, for a lot of people, the world. Yes. But our last episode before this was on the role and beauty of Torah.

Yeah.

Remember anything from that boy?

I don't. It's been so long. Other than I enjoyed it.

Yes.

Now what do you remember? Do you have, do you have recollections?

I do, I do, actually.

Okay, good man.

So what I really, really love about. What I loved about that is the expansion of the view of who God is. We called, we called. I also remember. We called Dr. Rebecca.

I remember this.

God's velvet hammer.

That's right. Yes, I remember that.

How can you forget that? No. Called her God's velvet hammer.

Right.

So you know, that, that being said, it's quite.

Yeah.

It was beautiful to actually have this view of God from the Old Testament that there was an expansion of the view of God. You know, I have a personal conclusion and story I want to tell you in this concluding episode. And it's connected to this episode. I have a very, very close friend, and his mom was a saint. I mean, she was just an absolute saint. She fasted for seven days for our Bible study group with the guys. And at the end of that fast, she fell ill. And then it was discovered that she had a brain tumor.

Wow.

And that just launched us into a very, very interesting journey, walking with her through all the way to the final moments. And she was a great encourager and a woman of faith. I can't. I can't stress that enough. And. And her journey through that was just. Was. Was really overwhelming. She was encouraging the people that were just breaking apart and falling apart. Right. So she passed away and I was actually. This was back. She was back in Romania and I was in the United States when she. And I was really grieved because I, you know, we really all loved. She was a pillar in our church. And a few months after that, I was visiting Romania and I went to their house, right? And I went to this friend's house. We spent some time. We really spent a good time together, talking, praying about it and stuff. And I was in. I was in their house, and there was a little note on the wall in their house that left a resounding echo in my life and really challenged me a lot. And it said this. It only said this. God is different. That's it. And, you know, if a theologian would have said that.

Yeah, right.

I get it, because you can prove to me all kinds of things. But if somebody that has walked so closely with God and then walked all the way to the final breath through a quite disruptive and challenging season and came out of that and left only this thing to the family to say. Whatever you think about him, whatever you think, you figured him out.

Yeah.

God is different.

What do you think she was saying? Like what?

I think she. I think it's deeper than. Than the. The immediate reaction that we have to be. Like what? Like how. But, yeah, I think it was. Is way more than you could ever think.

Sure.

He is more present and involved than you ever imagine. He is. He is different than you imagine with your mind. If maybe she saw him in that room. I have. But I also love the mystery that was left to say. You now have to figure out for yourself who are you really following? Who is this God? And that episode reminded me of. Of. I am boxing God in so much with my Limitation of how I view God. And when Dr. Josberger was unpacking a God that is somewhat hidden for me from the Old Testament, why he was doing this, why he's doing that, and just seeing his character and just full blown face imprinted in the papers of the Old Testament. And also going through this season right now, to this rough season, what is the conclusion of this? What, what am I coming out of? Who is God now after all this crazy year for me? Is he. Is he the same as I thought he was in the beginning of this? Is he. Is he more? Is he different?

Interesting.

Yeah, that's it.

Yeah. Well, good stuff.

Makes sense. Good. And then, of course, I'm not. We're not going to go through all the episodes about COVID but there are some really cool here. And these are pillars of remembrance.

Yeah. I think you were saying before it'll be interesting. It could be interesting down the road for people to look at these and say, oh, what was that like? Like history, you know, you wish you could go back and hear people's takes at what things were like through the, you know, the big events of history. And this, this. I think there's lots of little side episodes here that will be of interest down the road.

The cool thing is immediately that the first episode that hit coronavirus was that we had to move to remote learning. And we captured that in an episode like what it meant for faculty to have two and a half days to move their entire. Some people have taught here for 42 years. 42 years, right. So what it meant. And they've never had to do this. 42 years of teaching here, they had two and a half days to move. That's how fast this whole thing went to move to remote.

Right.

And then we talked about, you know, our response to it, how do we respond as a university. And then what was really cool is that we talked with Greg Burch, Dr. Greg Burch, about how it. It immediately impacted missions and the concept of global missions.

Right.

So it went that far. And then one of my all time favorite episodes was with Dr. Carl Kutz.

Yeah, it was good too.

We talked about the Passover. Right. I thought that was brilliant.

Right.

I don't know if you remember when the lamb was, you know, that, that it was the angel of the Lord or the Lord was not the one crossing.

Yeah, right.

He was actually in the house.

Yeah, good memory.

And protecting the house from the angel of death outside.

Right.

That was quite timely for the age of COVID Right. Any, any other things, I mean, we're wrapping things up.

Yeah, no, I mean, it's been a good, it's been a good year and, you know, cheering for all you folks out there that might be listening. You know, keep doing your best, keep trusting God. It's really all you can do. Yes, it's, it's been a year that I think none of us would have expected. But again, I'm really fascinated to see how, what it's going to look like down the road.

This was a great run. I really, really, really enjoyed this season. This is where the, the things come. Dr. Reverend Dr. I will never tire of introducing you like that, man. I mean, it was just, it was the highlight of my episode.

It's good because I can't get the students to do it. So I appreciate that.

Have them listen to MU Talks. Every single episode assignment. That's just listen to all episodes. So. Reverend Dr. Robert J. Hildebrand, it was an absolute pleasure for this season. We had a good run. I've learned a ton.

Right?

I've learned a ton from you from your live.

Yeah, it's fun to get to know each other a little bit and to, and, and again to hopefully some of the folks out there have heard some interesting things too.

Yes. Yes. And we had great guests. Absolute great season. So if you we're on soundcloud.com soundcloud.com MU talks so if you actually have a chance to, to go and listen to some episodes or if you see it on social media, please feel free to give us some thoughts. Even on this episode, we post on LinkedIn, social media, Instagram, all these things. If you see MU talks anywhere and if you have any thoughts, please feel free to go there. And another shameless plug. We continue posting absolutely brilliant courses that are accessible for you on MU Plus.

Great.

So if you go to multnomahplus.com we have 24 courses available. We're launching another, I would say 10 to 15 courses, you know, in this next season, brilliant courses with a lot of the guest speakers that we had on in this, in this season. So please feel free to go there and check it out. 1, 2, 3, 4, 5. Here we go. We're about to play this sound. I don't know if you're gonna keep this one last time or whatever, I don't know.

But this could be the last time.

For this could be the last time for the sound. You do have a chance to read it out.

I'm going to take it out perfectly today.

Well, thank you everybody. It was an absolute pleasure. Here we are the wrapping up a wonderful season of MU talks. God bless you, everyone, and we'll see you when we see you.

All right. The views and opinions expressed by MU talks and it's wonderful. Co hosts in no way reflect the beliefs philosophy system. I lost it. I almost made it. I'm university affiliates consistent. It was absolutely almost made it.

Thank you, everybody. We'll play this. We'll play this sound just a little longer.

That's right.

Okay.

Just in case you're having a dance party.

Hip hip.

Sam.