Multnomah's 'Dr. Joe'

passes at age 68

   PORTLAND — Joseph C. Aldrich, third president of what is now Multnomah University, passed away Thursday, Feb. 12, after a 15-year battle with Parkinson’s disease. The 68-year-old Aldrich was a national leader among evangelicals, founder of several ministries, author, and passionate follower of Jesus Christ.
   In his passing, he was surrounded by his wife, Ruthe, his two children, Kristen and Stephen, and other family.
   Aldrich, or “Dr. Joe” as he was simply known by students and colleagues, served as Multnomah president from 1978 until 199,7 when he retired due to health concerns. Aldrich brought about significant progress for Multnomah during his 19 years as president. Highlights include:
  •construction of the John and Mary Mitchell Library in 1980.
  •founding of Multnomah Graduate School of Ministry in 1987, renamed Multnomah Biblical Seminary in 1993.
  •charter membership in the Evangelical Council for Financial Accountability (ECFA) in 1988
  •renaming Multnomah School of the Bible to Multnomah Bible College and Seminary in 1993.
  •construction of the Scruggs Married Student Apartments in 1995.
  •accreditation of Multnomah Biblical Seminary through the Association of Theological Schools (ATS) in 1996.
   In his honor, the Joseph C. Aldrich Student Center on campus was dedicated two years ago.
   Aldrich also played a part in forming 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.
   The author of many works, his book Lifestyle Evangelism, though controversial when first published, became a classic. Through the book,     Aldrich had an impact on 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.
   Aldrich was a pioneer in the prayer-summit movement, shepherding pastors into what is known today as Inter-national Renewal Ministries. Since the first Prayer Summit 20 years ago, there have been about 200 summits in 40 states and 30 other nations.
   Aldrich made great efforts to help pastors succeed in their ministries. He organized the first Pastor’s Enrichment Congress, which Multnomah sponsored in the early 1980s. From that, he launched the Elder-Deacon Seminars, the Women in Ministry Conferences, and inaugurated a church secretary’s seminar.
   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 for Graham’s final Northwest crusade. Not satisfied to simply partner with Graham administratively, he canceled classes during the crusade so all students, faculty, and staff could assist.
  “Dr. Joe Aldrich was a man of passionate leadership expressed in unpredictable ways,” Daniel Lockwood, current president of Multnomah, said. “He exuded a loving desire for God. You would catch it in his prayers, glimpse it in the way he related to students, and see it in his demeanor.”
  Memorial service was held Feb. 20 at Lake Grove Presbyterian Church in Lake Oswego.