In several living rooms across Alabama, the midnight oil burns, fingers tap tirelessly over keyboards — and fall semester classes continue on schedule at New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary (NOBTS).
Housing and accommodating displaced professors — it’s an ongoing contribution Alabama Baptists are making on behalf of the seminary to help Hurricane Katrina relief efforts and help students stay on track.
After Katrina hit Aug. 29, only about 250 NOBTS students withdrew from school.
Of those who remained registered for classes, nearly 300 stayed in Louisiana, but more than 2,200 others — 94 of whom evacuated to Alabama — scattered to 29 different states.
NOBTS Provost Steve Lemke credited the faculty with much of the student retention, saying the personal relationships between professors and students is the only way to account for the student loyalty in such an uncertain time.
“Our faculty is personable and compassionate, and they really connect with our students. At the same time, few theological faculties have the technological expertise to redesign this number of courses into an Internet-assisted format in the midst of a semester,” Lemke said.
As a result for some of those professors, their temporary classroom space is in the homes of Alabama Baptists.
Jeffrey Riley, for instance, conducts his five courses on a seminary-provided laptop from his parents’ home in Auburn. Riley, an assistant professor of ethics at NOBTS, brought his wife, Laura, and two sons, Jennings and Rhett, to Auburn when the mandatory evacuation for Katrina was issued.
“When we left New Orleans, we were thinking we would be gone a few days and go back,” he said. “Now we will likely be here at least through the summer. We consider ourselves blessed to have a place to go.”
For their online classes, Riley’s students read their textbooks, submit assignments by e-mail and participate in threaded discussions — discussions that take place over time through posting messages on a class Web site.
“It’s more maintenance than I could have imagined but I have the time — and the place. We feel displaced in a sense, but we feel right at home here. It’s a little crowded but it’s been a blessing to us,” he said with a laugh.
In the spring, Riley will continue his online classes in this format, plus teach a systematic theology class on Mondays at the seminary extension at The Church at Brook Hills, Birmingham, in Birmingham Association.
And because of his location, Riley will also get to teach Southern Baptist Theological Seminary extension classes at Lakeview Baptist Church, Auburn, in Tuskegee Lee Association — his home church.
“It’s nice to be back, and while we are here, we want to seize every opportunity,” he said.
For Ken Taylor, NOBTS professor of urban missions, seizing opportunities while he and his family stay with his mother in Phil Campbell has meant visiting the pulpits of Baptist churches across Winston and Franklin counties.
“I didn’t get to visit other churches much in New Orleans and that’s been fun,” said Taylor, who serves as pastor Elysian Fields Avenue Baptist Church, New Orleans. “I am thankful for the way they have taken care of us.”
Teaching his four classes online this semester took a lot of patience and time to start with, he said — his mother’s home, located in a rural area, is 2,100 feet too far out to get high-speed DSL Internet.
“Teaching classes was extremely time-consuming until we got the satellite Internet,” he said with a laugh. “It’s been very busy but it’s been wonderful. Students were heavily impacted by the storm but have still done well. This shouldn’t be called the fall semester; it should be called the grace semester.”
Rick Morton, associate director of the youth ministry institute at NOBTS, said faculty members have enjoyed looking back and seeing God’s hand prepare them for this time. “We had really launched out technologically years ago as a seminary with Internet-based classes, audio classes and extension centers,” he said.
With the extension centers in place, NOBTS was able to keep its December graduation in place — The Church at Brook Hills will host the ceremony for some 150 graduates Dec. 17.
Morton, who teaches classes online as well as at the Birmingham and Jackson, Miss., extension centers, said he — along with his wife, Denise, and 3-year-old son, Erick — have been humbled to see God’s hand move through the warm reception they received from Maytown Baptist Church, Mulga, in Bessemer Baptist Association. The church offered the family its missionary home to live in after Katrina hit, and they have been there ever since.
“Our house (in New Orleans) was a total loss, but God has seen to our needs. The folks at Maytown have been incredible — they came in and gave us furniture and got us set up so that we are functional,” Morton said. “It’s amazing to see the way the body of Christ has responded.”
Some professors, such as Donna Peavey, NOBTS assistant professor of Christian education, are — like Morton — staying in church-owned homes. Peavey has been teaching from the pastorium at First Baptist Church, Vincent, in Shelby Association since her family came to Alabama. Some others who were here have already left or are currently in the process of moving back.
“We are hoping to start transitioning back to New Orleans in January,” Morton said. “We miss home but we are so thankful for the way they have made us feel at home in Alabama.”
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