The Mustang Connection March 2021

March 2021 vol.

The

MUSTANG CONNECTION

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A PUBLICATION of THE MASTER’S UNIVERSITY

WELCOME TO THE THIRD EDITION of THE MUSTANG CONNECTION. NEARLY 2,000 STUDENTS ARE CURRENTLY ENROLLED IN UNDERGRADUATE AND GRADUATE PROGRAMS AT THE MASTER’S UNIVERSITY. THEY COME FROM ACROSS THE UNITED STATES AND AROUND THE WORLD. And after graduation, our alumni—like so many of you—scatter across the globe to serve the Master in all kinds of places and all kinds of jobs. In this edition of The Mustang Connection, you’ll meet an international student who came to TMU with the help of a new scholarship, and an online graduate who is serving the Lord in a unique context. You’ll also hear from the dean of the Pearl C. Schaffer School of Education, and a graduate serving in pastoral ministry on the East Coast. We’re so grateful for our alumni and how they represent our school and Christ throughout the world.

If you have any questions about the school, don’t hesitate to email us at alumni@masters.edu.

CONTENTS

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How to Learn Anything

by D R. J O R D A N M O RT O N

An Online Student’s Step of Faith

S T U D E N T F O C U S:

Olivia Contreras

M I N I S T RY H I G H L I G H T:

Gabe & Rachel Powell

C O R P O R AT E PA RT N E R:

Regency Lighting

Alumni Job Board

Upcoming Events March

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FEATURE

by DR. JORDAN MORTON

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In the early days of the pandemic, when quarantine started rather abruptly, I kept hearing from people who were looking for new things to do during their expanded at-home time. Some discovered and took up new craft hobbies, like baking or candle-making; some tried their hand at blogging or podcasting; some sunk themselves into the latest video game. Someone I know started learning to speak another language. Learning something new became, apparently, a thing. It remains to be seen how many people will continue with their newly acquired skills or remember their newly acquired knowledge, but it is safe to say that those who keep baking sourdough bread or speaking Mandarin will have succeeded as learners. What makes that happen?

Is it luck, willpower, or some other ethereal factor?

No. You can take specific steps to help ensure that you succeed when you want to learn something new.

W H AT I S L E A R N I N G? When you approach learning something new, it’s helpful to start with understanding what learning really is — an internal cognitive process that results in change. Romans 12:2 underscores this, exhorting us to “be transformed by the renewing of our minds.” In other words, if we are truly learning, whatever we are doing, it will change us.

Yesterday, you may not have known what sourdough starter was, but today you do, and so you can use it correctly when you bake. That simple new nugget of knowledge opened a door for you. While it may be a stretch to say, “Learning about sourdough starter changed my life,” it is a fact that your knowledge base increased, and that makes a difference (a change) in what you can bake. God’s design of our minds is wonderful, indeed.

TIPS TO ENSURE LEARNING When you want to learn something new, how can you maximize your potential for success?

Tip �: Prepare for It In our education degree programs in the Pearl C. Schaffer School of Education, we often use taking a trip as an analogy for learning. What if you were going to take a trip to New York City? It’s highly unlikely that you would rush down to the airport and jump on a plane on a whim. You would prepare ahead of time – looking for a good deal on plane tickets, researching the weather, picking out a hotel that meets your needs.

It’s best to approach learning with the same proactive and curious mindset. What exactly will you be learning, and what does that entail? Approach these questions with a willing and open mind and anticipate change.

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Feeling apprehensive? It’s normal to feel a little unsure when starting to learn something new, but focus on the outcome you expect. Think of what the new knowledge or skill will add to your life. Then set aside dedicated time so you can focus on the learning. You’ll want to choose time when you are not distracted or tired. Make sure you can access all the necessary materials you need in advance as well. These may seem like simple steps, but taking them will get you off to a good start in your learning journey.

Tip �: Watch It & Talk It Out It’s hard to know where to get the best pizza in New York if you’ve never been there. But you can be guided well by someone who has. When you are learning something new, it’s a good idea to find someone to be your model who has the knowledge or skill that you want to gain. You could reach out to a person in your circle of family or friends, you could find a professional to hire, or you could follow a renowned expert by subscribing to their YouTube channel. Observe what they do carefully and go ahead and take notes. You’ll want to break complex tasks or knowledge into smaller pieces. Talking about what you are learning is also crucial to success – research shows it makes a huge difference in retaining knowledge – so don’t be afraid to ask questions. Find a mentor who will be responsive to your questions. If you can’t find an accessible mentor, talking with someone who is learning along with you is also valuable. Reach out to others who are also learning what you are learning and set up times to talk as you go. Joining a related club or organization can provide you with contacts.

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Tip 3: Apply It Research also shows that we retain knowledge better when we apply it, and certainly we need to practice any new skills. How will you use the new knowledge of skills you learn? Take steps to put them to use right away. Why not use your learning to help others? Find a ministry opportunity that will allow you to share what you have learned in the service of God’s kingdom. In other words, don’t keep your newfound learning to yourself. Even if you are not an expert, you can share what you know. If you can find a way to do that, your brain will make connections and that will cement your newly acquired knowledge or skills so you can bless others.

GO FORTH AND LEARN! By understanding what learning really is, preparing for it, finding a model of it, talking about it, and then finding ways to apply it, you can find success. That should encourage all of us to keep learning.

DR. JORDAN MORTON Dean, Pearl C. Schaffer School of Education

A SHORT READING LIST

The Religious Beliefs of America’s Founders: Reason, Revelation, and Revolution

on THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION

GREGG L. FRAZER

looks at the founder’s private statements about their theological convictions and dispels myths on the right and left concerning what America’s key founders believed.

We asked Dr. Gregg Frazer to recommend books that explain the roots of our nation’s politics and the principles on which the nation was founded.

In God We Don’t Trust

DAVID BERCOT (SCROLL PUBLISHING CO., 2011) [OUT OF PRINT; ORDER VIA WWW.ABEBOOKS.COM]

God Against the Revolution: The Loyalist Clergy’s Case Against the American Revolution

Written at a middle school or high school level, this book approaches nearly every aspect of the Revolution and what led to it from a consistently biblical Christian perspective and asks important and penetrating questions.

GREGG L. FRAZER

delves into the argument made by those who remained loyal to Great Britain and opposed the American Revolution.

Christians in the American Revolution MARK NOLL (CHRISTIAN UNIV. PRESS, 1977) [OUT OF PRINT; ORDER VIA WWW.ABEBOOKS.COM ] Along with a solid general background of the Revolution from a Christian perspective, Noll has chapters explaining the “Patriotic response,” the “Reforming response,” the “Loyalist response,” and the “Pacifist response” to the Revolution.

The Birth of the Republic, 1763-89

EDMUND S. MORGAN (UNIV. OF CHICAGO PRESS, 2012) A solid and straightforward history of the Revolution by an acclaimed historian of the period.

composed by DR. GREGG FRAZER Professor, History and Political Studies

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FEATURE

Learning and living it out!

HOW AN ONLINE BIBLICAL COUNSELING STUDENT STEPPED O U T I N FA I T H A N D W A S EQUIPPED BY TMU TO SERVE

Yasmith Ordonez had doubts about going back to school.

She wondered about the timing. It had been nine years since she moved from her native Colombia to Florida.

And nearly 14 years had passed since she’d last enrolled in a formal bachelor’s program. She was approaching her 30th wedding anniversary.

Yasmith also questioned whether her health would allow it. She had conditions that caused frequent pain and made sleeping difficult. What if she couldn’t push through all the way to graduation?

Still, she felt a definite tug. After immigrating to the United States, Yasmith became more active in supporting her church. She wanted to help women grow in their relationships with Christ. But she wanted to do so responsibly, in accordance with Scripture.

She felt she needed training. But that’s when her mostpressing doubt surfaced. Would she be able to keep up

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with an online program like the bachelor’s degree in biblical counseling at The Master’s University? She says her English was “intermediate” at best.

Ultimately, she stepped out in faith. “My desire to become a biblical counselor was bigger than my fears,” she says.

What followed was a picture of perseverance and God’s faithfulness. Yasmith enrolled in TMU Online, where she studied conflict resolution, marriage counseling and elementary Greek. She learned to trust the sufficiency of God’s Word to meet the needs of everyday life. And when she didn’t digest the information immediately, she went over the material again until it stuck. Professors and family members cheered her on.

After four years, Yasmith graduated from TMU in May 2020 with a bachelor’s in biblical counseling.

The accomplishment has supercharged her ministry.

She regularly disciples women, and she partners with her husband, Jose, a pastor and comedian, to answer questions for thousands of viewers on the couple’s YouTube channel.

“We recently announced to people who know us in Colombia that the ministry of Jose Ordonez will no longer be,” says Jose, who built a considerable following as a comic in Colombia. “Now, we are the ministry of ‘Los Ordonez.’ I’m happy to see how my wife is helping women who need advice grounded in the Word of God.” Biblical Counseling is one of five undergraduate degrees offered by TMU Online. The goal is to provide students like Yasmith with the same education – grounded in Scripture – that TMU supplies on-campus.

For Yasmith, learning in English instead of Spanish was a significant challenge – but hardly the stiffest roadblock she has faced.

Her father died when she was young, and money was scarce. After she married Jose, the couple’s early years together were rocky. They had money problems, and they often disagreed on how to parent their four children. After seven years, they temporarily separated.

but I felt a burden for women like her. That day I asked God to give me the opportunity to do something for them, to use me as a tool so He could transform lives.”

Ultimately, Yasmith decided that The Master’s University — which she heard about in a video advertisement — would be an ideal place to train, so she enrolled in TMU’s online biblical counseling program in 2016.

Yasmith’s initial doubts weren’t unfounded. In addition to health issues, she says completing homework in English was her biggest challenge. Sometimes she listened to lectures more than once or repeated reading assignments.

At times, she felt exhausted. But she always found help.

“I never felt belittled for not managing the language well. The professors were patient and corrected me with love,” she says. “I definitely improved my English in the process.”

YA S M I T H A N D J O S E O R D O N E Z E N J O Y GOOFING AROUND WITH THEIR GRANDCHILDREN.

It wasn’t until Jose rededicated his life to the Lord that things finally changed. He invited Yasmith to church, and in 1997 she gave her life to Christ.

At first, Yasmith focused on raising her children. It wasn’t until after the family moved to Miami – where Jose accepted a position at a radio station – that she began meeting with women and offering advice based mostly on her own experiences. However, she remembers one incident that convinced her to pursue formal training as a biblical counselor.

She’d been traveling alone, and during a layover, she saw a woman screaming insults at her husband and shoving him because he’d momentarily lost sight of their child. Afterward, the woman appeared to be proud of her behavior.

“I went to the bathroom and started crying,” Yasmith says. “I didn’t understand what was happening to me,

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Along the way, Yasmith studied methods of biblical change, she critiqued psychology, and she learned about the theological basis for counseling. One class that reoriented her thinking was Introduction to Biblical Counseling.

“My philosophy now is that God must become our main refuge, strength and hope,” she says. “It doesn’t matter how big the problem is because God is bigger. There are no secret formulas. The Word of God is clear, and His grace opens our eyes.”

TMU ONLINE STUDENT

POPULATION STUDENTS BY STATE

AK

10

MT

6

AL

2

NC

14

AR

3

NE

3

AZ

24

NJ

8

CA

374

NM

7

CO

20

NV

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These days, she disciples women weekly — mostly online, due to the pandemic. She’s currently helping women from church, a woman in Australia and, with Jose, several married couples. Often, Jose and Yasmith receive questions from desperate people looking for comfort. The couple addresses the most relevant inquiries in Spanish on YouTube.

CT

3

NY

8

DE

5

OH

13

FL

31

OK

7

GA

16

OR

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HI

7

PA

12

IA

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SC

4

ID

11

SD

2

During one video, which received nearly 15,000 views, Jose encouraged Yasmith to show her TMU diploma on camera. Yasmith shyly obliged.

IL

10

TN

10

IN

10

TX

46

KS

5

UT

5

KY

4

VA

20

LA

8

VT

3

MA

4

WA

51

MD

7

WI

3

MI

12

WV

2

MN

5

WY

6

MO

7

N/A 30

MS

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When Yasmith graduated in May 2020, she was just getting started.

“Without a doubt, studying at TMU has been one of my wife’s best decisions,” Jose says.

Is someone you know interested in being equipped to impact the world for Christ? Click here.

COUNTRIES REPRESENTED

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Australia

Israel

New Zealand

Bermuda

Jamaica

Philippines

Brazil

Japan

Romania

Canada

Kenya

Singapore

Chile

South Korea

South Africa

Ethiopia

Malaysia

United Kingdom

India

Mexico

United States

FEATURE

RIGHT WHERE SHE NEEDS TO BE

F O R I NT E R N AT I O N A L S T U D E NT OLIVIA CONTRERAS, A NEW SCHOLARSHIP OPENED THE DOOR TO

A C H R I S T- C E N T E R E D C O M M U N I T Y Olivia Contreras nearly screamed.

The soon-to-be college student had been scrolling through her email last year when she encountered a stunning message: She’d been awarded a scholarship through a new program at The Master’s University.

The implication was significant. She would now be able to attend the school she’d heard so much about from her parents, Luis and Robin, both of whom graduated from TMU before moving to Mexico City, where Luis became a pastor and seminary professor.

Reading the news, Contreras leapt off her sofa and ran through the house. Tears streamed down her face.

She offered prayers of thanksgiving for a scholarship that would allow her to engage in the kind of Christcentered community she’d come to cherish after God saved her in middle school.

“I just want everyone to know how great of a God we serve,” says Contreras, who arrived at TMU in fall 2020 thanks in part to The Master’s Global Scholarship. “Not just because He provided everything that I needed, because He could have not done that too, and He would still be a good God.”

With the support of generous donors, TMU started The Master’s Global Scholarship in 2020 with an ambitious goal: to preserve faithfulness and doctrinal integrity worldwide by educating the next generation of leaders. The program targets student populations most closely aligned with the University’s mission. This includes international students with proven affiliation to TMU through ministries like The Master’s Academy International (TMAI).

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That’s where the Contreras family comes in. After graduating from The Master’s Seminary in 2002, Luis served for 17 years as a seminary professor at Word of Grace Biblical Seminary — a TMAI member school in Mexico City — and as a pastor.

He now works full-time as a translator for Grace to You — Dr. John MacArthur’s radio-and-television preaching ministry.

It isn’t surprising, then, that Olivia has listened to many MacArthur sermons in her life. She says she’s been particularly blessed by MacArthur’s commitment to the authority of Scripture, and she’s thankful for the role her family has been able to play in his farreaching ministry.

Recently, she became a member at Grace Community Church where MacArthur preaches. It’s a commitment she would have run from only a few years ago.

In middle school, Contreras says it became clear that she wasn’t a Christian and that she didn’t desire to please God. “I was a slave to sin,” she says.

Still, her parents continued to display Christ’s love in the way they corrected her, always emphasizing a need for heart change rather than mere outward conformity.

As Contreras prepared for high school, the message began to take root. She saw her sin, and she wanted to change. But she found the task impossible — until she placed her faith in Christ.

Contreras can’t pinpoint the day of her conversion, but she believes it happened sometime during the winter of her final year of middle school.

That summer she attended Camp Regen, a week-long high school gathering hosted by Grace Community.

There, she met other teens who loved God, and she felt convicted that her choice in friends hadn’t always been the best.

“I realized how I needed a community of believers around me who would point me to Christ,” Contreras says.

In the years that followed, Contreras’ desire to learn and apply God’s Word grew. She began to surround herself with people who shared her passion for Christ.

That principle was also a driving force when it came to choosing a college.

Contreras knew she’d be able to build strong relationships at Master’s, but her family didn’t think they could make it work financially.

Then in April 2020, she received an email that changed the equation.

“We couldn’t believe it,” Luis says of The Master’s Global Scholarship. “We were so joyful and thankful for the Lord’s grace through the generosity of TMU.” So far at Master’s, Contreras says she’s been humbled to realize how much she still doesn’t know about the Bible, and she’s made the kind of friends she was hoping for.

In fact, relationships are a crucial reason Contreras hopes to one day earn a master’s degree in biblical counseling. In the meantime, she’s majoring in music.

“I love to get to know people and find out how they’re doing spiritually and how I can serve them and point them to Christ,” Contreras says.

For more information on TMU scholarships, click here.

T M U T R A D. U N D E R G R A D U AT E S T U D E NT

POPULATION STUDENTS BY STATE

AK

9

NC

5

AL

4

ND

1

AZ

25

NE

3

CA

585

NH

2

CO

27

NJ

6

CT

2

NM

4

FL

11

NV

5

GA

3

NY

1

HI

6

OH

7

IA

2

OK

3

ID

19

OR

16

IL

4

PA

4

IN

6

SC

2

KS

4

SD

4

MA

5

TX

18

MD

4

VA

3

MI

8

WA

47

MN

5

WI

2

MS

2

WY

3

MT

2

COUNTRIES REPRESENTED

Albania Australia Austria Bermuda Brazil Cambodia Canada China Colombia Costa Rica Croatia Czech Republic Dominican Republic

Ecuador El Salvador Germany Haiti Hungary India Ireland Israel Italy Jordan Latvia Lebanon Malawi Malaysia

Mongolia Mexico New Zealand Philippines Romania South Africa South Korea Sweden Uganda Ukraine United Kingdom United States Zambia

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FEATURE

MASTER’S IN MINISTRY

GABE & RACHEL POWELL AFTER BEING BLESSED TO SERVE AT GRACE TO YOU FOR ALMOST 10 YEARS, THE LORD BROUGHT US TO HOPE BIBLE CHURCH IN COLUMBIA, MARYLAND, AT THE END OF 2018 TO SERVE AS THE ASSOCIATE PASTOR OF SHEPHERDING WITH A PRIMARY FOCUS ON BIBLICAL COUNSELING. Hope Bible Church was planted in 1997 by Pastor Tom Leake, a TMS graduate, and since then the Lord has blessed his faithful ministry by building a diverse congregation committed to biblical teaching and fellowship. Among other TMUS distinctives, we are an equipping church, seeking to strengthen other local churches through our Bible Institute and annual conference. We’ve also recently launched Hope Biblical Counseling Center, a certified training center with ACBC. One of the personal draws to this church was the strong connection our church has with TMUS, including multiple TMU alumni. We are also blessed to enjoy strong connections with a number of Master’s Fellowship churches in the region.

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GABE & RACHEL POWELL NOAH - 16 CHLOE - 14 CALEB - 11 MICAH - 8

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Hope Bible Church

2

Belcroft Bible Church

3

Baltimore Bible Church

4

CrossLife Bible Fellowship

5

Immanuel Bible Church

6

Cascades Bible Church

7

Grace Bible Church

8

Grace Bible Church

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Piedmont Bible Church

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1

2

9112 Guilford Road Columbia, MD 21046 Thomas Leake, Senior Pastor-Teacher Gabe Powell, Associate Pastor

13000 Beechtree Lane Bowie, MD 20715 Matt White, Senior Pastor

2200 W Joppa Rd Meeting at Valley Presbyterian Church, PCA Lutherville-Timonium MD 21093 George Lawson, Senior Pastor Matthew Feldi, Associate Pastor

6901 Williamsburg Blvd.

Arlington, VA 22213 George Pearson, Pastor-Teacher

6911 Braddock Road, Springfield, VA 22151 Jesse Johnson, Pastor-Teacher Jordan Standridge, Pastoral Associate (college) Ryan Francis, Pastoral Associate (high school)

21060 Whitfield Place Sterling, VA 20165 Jeff Casali, Pastor-Teacher

9115 Lorton Station Blvd.

Lorton, VA 22079 Doug Sachtleben, Lead Pastor

205 N Maple Ave. Purcellville, VA 20132 David Jordan, Pastor-Teacher

14910 Washington St. Haymarket, VA 20169 John Chester, Pastor-Teacher

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FEATURE

When employees enter the headquarters of Regency Lighting in Chatsworth, California, they’re greeted by a reminder of the company’s priorities.

Signs hanging near the building’s entrance display the names of Regency’s non-profit partners. It’s a way of reminding each team member that they’re part of something bigger than simply one of the nation’s leading full-service lighting distributors.

“We want to take care of our families, we want to take care of our business and our customers,” says Evan Regenstreif, CEO and co-owner of Regency. “But the truth is that we make money so we can give money away.”

Regency seeks to guide its customers through any stage of the lighting process: from preconstruction design support and energy-saving retrofit projects to on-site maintenance, easy product replacement and lamp recycling, among other things.

All of the above, however, is meant to open the door for Regency to make an impact in the lives of its clients, the lives of its employees, the community and the world.

Practically speaking, Regency supports dozens of non-profits. It built an orphanage in Haiti in 2016, and it has collected wheelchair donations for Joni and Friends. With each of its non-profit partners, Regency provides opportunities for its employees to engage, whether through missions trips, local events or giving.

“People want to be part of making a difference in other people’s lives,” Regenstreif says. “And that’s really what keeps people motivated. It’s like, ‘I can go get a paycheck anywhere. But I want to earn my paycheck working with people I enjoy and where there’s a greater calling, a greater mission, a bigger story than just selling light bulbs.”

TO LEARN MORE ABOUT REGENCY LIGHTING, CLICK HERE.

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JOB BOARD

TMU ALUMNI

JOB BOARD

General Manager A P P LY N O W

Associate Gift Planning Officer A P P LY N O W

Bookkeeper/Office Administrator A P P LY N O W

Special Education Teacher Assistant A P P LY N O W

Facilities Coordinator A P P LY N O W

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UPCOMING

EVENTS TMU Theatre Arts will be performing its spring play in front of limited capacity audiences on March 26, 27 and 28 at TMU. The show will also be available to watch online between March 26 and April 1. “The Happiest Millionaire” follows the children of an eccentric rich man as they navigate growing up, falling in love and possibly even leaving their happy home. For showtimes and to purchase tickets, visit masters.edu/theatre.

The Master’s University 28th Annual Golf Tournament is coming up on April 26. The tournament is hosted at Valencia Country Club, an incredible golf course included in the Top 25 in California by Golf Digest magazine. This is a great opportunity to spend a fun day with friends, playing a beautiful, memberonly course and serving a vital role in raising funds to support student scholarships at TMU. For more information go to masters.edu/golftournament or email development@masters.edu.

The Care of Souls Conference is scheduled for June 11-12 at the newly renovated Placerita Bible Church, adjacent to TMU’s campus. In partnership with TMU’s Department of Biblical Counseling, the conference aims to present a system of biblical truth that brings together people, their problems, Scripture and the living God. You can find a full list of speakers and register for the conference at careofsoulsconference.org.

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