From the Office of the President
These are perilous times for our world. I have lived for nearly 69 years and have not witnessed anything like this. Community gatherings shut down, shelter in place directives, and educational institutions closing campuses.
I am thankful that Nazarene Bible College continues to serve our mission without significant interruptions. There was no need to suspend classes or scramble to deliver quality education to our students. We have delivered distance education through an online format for 21 plus years. I am thankful for our faculty and adjunct faculty who serve our mission of preparing God’s “called ones” around the world.
Dr. Alan Lyke sent an email to the NBC faculty, adjunct faculty and students concerning the announcement from the mayor of Kansas City, along with municipal leaders of the greater Kansas City Metro declaring that beginning at Tuesday, March 24, at 12:01 a.m. they will enforce a “shelter in place” order. The Church of the Nazarene’s Global Ministry Center leaders are following that order. The GMC will not be accessible beginning Tuesday.
The NBC Cabinet met on March 13, March 17, and March 21 in preparation for this possibility. The March 13 meeting set protocols in place to make it possible for NBC employees to work offsite. The March 17 meeting further developed that plan. The March 21 meeting determined to move ahead with employees working offsite, given the community order and the GMC’s decision to make the building inaccessible.
I want to assure you that NBC was built for this type of crisis. Our employees will be moving offsite Monday afternoon. The decision to make the GMC building inaccessible did not catch us by surprise. We were ready. Protocols are in place and our employees are equipped to serve God’s “called ones.”
Our employees will have access to the NBC network, the systems they use on a regular basis, and will forward their desk phones to other devices. As Dr. Lyke wrote, In short, they will have the resources they need to ensure that the work of the college will continue. You should contact the persons you need to connect with in the same manner - phone, email, text - as you have before.
In times like these, we should focus on the words of Psalm 46:10-11: “Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth. The LORD almighty is with us; the God of Jacob is our fortress.”
Dr. Harold B. Graves Jr., NBC President
Published: 03/23/2020
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