Joseph Aldrich Leaves a Legacy of Evangelism by Suzanne Hadley Gosselin on 02/18/2009 at 2:26 PM

Yesterday I was saddened to hear that Dr. Joseph Aldrich (known as "Dr. Joe") the third president of my alma mater Multnomah University, went to be with the Lord after a 15 year battle with Parkinson's disease.

When I came to Multnomah (then called Multnomah Bible College) as a freshman, Dr. Joe was serving his final year as president. He taught my Spiritual Life class that year, and I had the privilege of witnessing a godly leader with an authentic passion for God and people. Some people, even if you only know them for a short time, leave a lasting impression on you. Dr. Joe was one of those people. The comments from students in response to his death is evidence of that.

Even after he ceased being president, he continued to keep office hours to meet with students. I interviewed him several times for my college newspaper and he was always extraordinarily humble and warm. Something about his demeanor screamed: I am nothing special; God is.

And yet he was special. An article on the Multnomah Web site hails some of his accomplishments:

While Dr. Joe's leadership is a significant chapter in Multnomah's history, he also played a part in the formation of many other ministry endeavors. Multnomah Press grew into a prominent Christian publisher during his tenure and has since become Waterbrook Multnomah Publishing Group, a division of Random House Publishing.

The author of many works, his book Lifestyle Evangelism, though controversial when first published, became a classic. Through the book, Dr. Joe was able to have a lasting impact on the students who read it for his classes and thousands of others around the nation who began to think about evangelism as something they could do with joy.

Bringing pastors and leaders together from all over the world was never more evident than his significant role in bringing Billy Graham to Portland in 1992, Graham's final Crusade in the Pacific Northwest. Not satisfied to simply partner with Graham administratively, he canceled classes during the crusade days so that all students, faculty, and staff could assist in person.

That kind of regard for evangelism affected the students who attended Multnomah. This past Sunday I was teaching sixth graders about friendship evangelism. One of the other teachers commented on my passion for evangelism. I was surprised. Evangelism isn't high on my spiritual gifts list. But maybe the drive others see in me is due to Dr. Joe's belief that evangelism was for everyone. It's an everyday responsibility of believers. That was one of his greatest legacies.

I saw Dr. Joe for the last time about five years ago. I was visiting Portland, and he was sitting in a Starbucks. I went over to say hello and he remembered me. "What are you doing now?" he asked. I told him that I was working as a children's magazine editor in Colorado. "Why that's wonderful!" he said with his signature warmth.

Righteous men bear good fruit. Dr. Joe is evidence of that.

Joseph Aldrich Leaves a Legacy of Evangelism by Suzanne Hadley Gosselin on 02/18/2009 at 2:26 PM

Yesterday I was saddened to hear that Dr. Joseph Aldrich (known as "Dr. Joe") the third president of my alma mater Multnomah University, went to be with the Lord after a 15 year battle with Parkinson's disease.

When I came to Multnomah (then called Multnomah Bible College) as a freshman, Dr. Joe was serving his final year as president. He taught my Spiritual Life class that year, and I had the privilege of witnessing a godly leader with an authentic passion for God and people. Some people, even if you only know them for a short time, leave a lasting impression on you. Dr. Joe was one of those people. The comments from students in response to his death is evidence of that.

Even after he ceased being president, he continued to keep office hours to meet with students. I interviewed him several times for my college newspaper and he was always extraordinarily humble and warm. Something about his demeanor screamed: I am nothing special; God is.

And yet he was special. An article on the Multnomah Web site hails some of his accomplishments:

While Dr. Joe's leadership is a significant chapter in Multnomah's history, he also played a part in the formation of many other ministry endeavors. Multnomah Press grew into a prominent Christian publisher during his tenure and has since become Waterbrook Multnomah Publishing Group, a division of Random House Publishing.

The author of many works, his book Lifestyle Evangelism, though controversial when first published, became a classic. Through the book, Dr. Joe was able to have a lasting impact on the students who read it for his classes and thousands of others around the nation who began to think about evangelism as something they could do with joy.

Bringing pastors and leaders together from all over the world was never more evident than his significant role in bringing Billy Graham to Portland in 1992, Graham's final Crusade in the Pacific Northwest. Not satisfied to simply partner with Graham administratively, he canceled classes during the crusade days so that all students, faculty, and staff could assist in person.

That kind of regard for evangelism affected the students who attended Multnomah. This past Sunday I was teaching sixth graders about friendship evangelism. One of the other teachers commented on my passion for evangelism. I was surprised. Evangelism isn't high on my spiritual gifts list. But maybe the drive others see in me is due to Dr. Joe's belief that evangelism was for everyone. It's an everyday responsibility of believers. That was one of his greatest legacies.

I saw Dr. Joe for the last time about five years ago. I was visiting Portland, and he was sitting in a Starbucks. I went over to say hello and he remembered me. "What are you doing now?" he asked. I told him that I was working as a children's magazine editor in Colorado. "Why that's wonderful!" he said with his signature warmth.

Righteous men bear good fruit. Dr. Joe is evidence of that.

Comments

[1. DannieA said the following at 2:34 PM on Feb 18:]

1

Sorry to hear that Suzanne. In my University I had a Professor like that. I was fortunate to attend a Christian University and was influenced by a couple of my professors.

[2. DEH said the following at 3:04 PM on Feb 18:]

2

I came to Multnomah after Dr. Joe left, so I never really knew him, but I could still feel his influence on campus. The world could use more men like Dr. Joe.

[3. Multnomah University Bloggers said the following at 11:54 AM on Feb 19:]

3

Thank you for publishing this post. We here at Multnomah will be posting a photo-retrospective on the blog later this week or earlier next week.

http://blogs.multnomah.edu/university

[1. DannieA said the following at 2:34 PM on Feb 18:]

1

Sorry to hear that Suzanne. In my University I had a Professor like that. I was fortunate to attend a Christian University and was influenced by a couple of my professors.

[2. DEH said the following at 3:04 PM on Feb 18:]

2

I came to Multnomah after Dr. Joe left, so I never really knew him, but I could still feel his influence on campus. The world could use more men like Dr. Joe.

[3. Multnomah University Bloggers said the following at 11:54 AM on Feb 19:]

3

Thank you for publishing this post. We here at Multnomah will be posting a photo-retrospective on the blog later this week or earlier next week.

http://blogs.multnomah.edu/university