March 13, 2009
Kairos A Publication of the Austin Presbyterian Theological Seminary Community
The Financial Crisis Hits Home
An Editorial
The theme of ‘identity’ has echoed through
these pages all semester. On Monday, March 9,
2009, the world-wide financial crisis hit home and we
found ourselves confronted with questions of identity
yet again. The seminary enacted a series of budget
cutting measures, including the elimination of nine staff
positions, resulting in seven of our brothers and sisters
being out of work and joining the burgeoning ranks of
our nation’s unemployed. Georgia, Kevin, Lupe,
Jackie, Karen, Sharon, and Todd. As word spread
during lunch, conversation turned to grief for those
who were let go, and frustration that it had come to
this. We are a seminary... we are supposed to be dif-
ferent, to be a light unto the world.
Who are we, as a Christian community, when
some persons who were with us one day, are gone the
next, their family pictures oddly absent from their
desks? We know the Body of Christ cannot be torn
asunder so easily... yet here is the present earthly re-
ality of what is... torn asunder. The ripples move out-
ward to our future. We have sacrificed to follow a call
from God, only to find that churches are in dire straits,
too, and possibly unable to call us this year. We can
envision a time when, one day, we will lead churches
whose purpose is rooted in the missio dei. Surely
there will be times when we will have to confront our
own financial crises. What will we have learned? Who
are we, we who feel so helpless to help?
We are a people who shudder at the sound of
words such as ‘endowment driven’, ‘right sizing’, and
‘the new normal.’ This language is more foreign to us
than ancient Hebrew or Greek. Bitter medicine for a
nasty sickness, perhaps, but it leaves us wondering,
“Is the cure worth the cost?” We don’t like it. We hate
it. We push back. We know there must be a better
way; we hope there is a better way. Can we find it?
We wonder if we are simply naive. We wonder if it
was a similar simple naiveté that led to the cross. We
© 2009 Austin Presbyterian
Theological Seminary
Issue #174
wonder if we are called to follow... we wonder... if we
are able.
We are a people who know that the best we
can do–any of us–is imperfect. And we know that we
have some good, faithful people leading Austin Semi-
nary. We pause, and we know that we have benefited
from their service and leadership. Indeed, we have
benefited from being ‘endowment driven.’ We wonder
if our ideals are compromised by our needs and de-
sires. We shudder again.
But let us not forget that another strong clue to
our identity has also emerged on campus this semes-
ter–the babies! Seven children have been born to
Austin Seminary students since January 20th. New
families getting started; families with children growing
even larger. Babies born to juniors, middlers, and sen-
iors. Baby showers have given way to neighbors
bringing food. The eyes of each parent gaze upon
their hopes and dreams. The eyes of each child gaze
into the unknown possibilities of life. We wonder
whether God gazes similarly upon us. Yes!
Both of these reminders of identity–the loss
from our community, and the children born into it–were
with us last Wednesday at the all-campus meeting:
from the back of the room a newborn baby’s cry arose
one moment, and a mournful cry of someone’s grief
the next. Perhaps this is who we are. Perhaps we are
a people who, during the difficulties and hardships of
our times, bear witness to the promise of new life.
It is a good thing that the church suffers along
with the rest of the world, that we are not left out of the
pain that others experience. Yet these are just words,
words that do not put food on the table, words that do
not pay the rent, words that do not ease another’s bur-
den. Beneath the reflection, we know there is real
pain.
Paul Dubois, Editor
 Issue 174 www.austinseminary.typepad.com/portal/kairos.html Page 2

Settles Lectures 2009

Spring Break Dr. William Storrar, Director of the Center of

No Chapel Services This Week
Theological Inquiry in Princeton, NJ, will present two lec-
tures on Mission and Public Theology. These lectures
explore the relationship between mission and public theol-
ogy, as that term is understood by the new International
Journal of Public Theology ( www.brill.nl/ijpt ).

Lecture 1 – Tuesday, March 24, 5:30 p.m., Shelton

Income Tax Issues for Clergy
All students, as well as ordained faculty and administra-
tors are invited to our second annual Seminar on Income
Tax Issues for Clergy.
• Thursday, April 23
• Presented by Debbie Steinbach, CPA and spouse of
Rev., Phil Steinbach, an Austin Seminary graduate
• 6:00-8:00 PM
• McCord 204
This seminar is strongly encouraged for all seniors. If you
are a junior or middler, please be aware that we plan to
offer this seminar again next year. This is not your only
chance. Contact Ann Fields for more information.
Chapel (overflow room McMillan 210)
'The Common Ground'
Lecture 2 – Wednesday, March 25, 11:00 a.m., Shelton
Chapel (overflow room McMillan 210)
'The Creative Tension'
For more information, contact Alison Riemersma
in the Dean’s Office.
Acts 2:42
Acts 2:42 is a student group committed to fellow-
ship and serving the Austin and the Austin Seminary com-
munity.
We meet Mondays at noon in McCord 201. Eve-
ryone is welcome to come and check us out. For more
information, contact Charissa Ellis.

Parents’ Night Out
Mark your calendar for the following dates:
• March 27, Hicks Community House, 6:00 to 8:30
p.m. RSVP by Wednesday, March 25.
• April 17, Hicks Community House, 6:00 to 8:30
p.m. RSVP by Wednesday, April 15.
Personal Counseling
Referral for individual counseling is available to
students and/or their families as needed. If you would like
to talk about the possibility of counseling, contact Ann
Fields at afields@austinseminary.edu or by phone at 404-
4869.

RSVP to Laurel Dixon, Babysitting Coordinator at 473- Mark your calendars!

8797 or laurel.dixon@austinseminary.edu.
Space is Limited!
Baccalaureate
Commencement News

Sat., May 23
CORRECTED TIMES

Financial Aid News 6:00 p.m.

To all returning students admitted to the MATS
and MDiv degree programs (All other students may disre- Commencement
gard this notice.):
Financial aid application packets are now avail-
Sun., May 24
able for the 2009-2010 school year. You may pick up the 2:30 p.m.
one with your name on it outside of the Admissions Office
area on the first floor of McMillan. If there is not one with Both Events Will Be Held At
your name on it, please let Glenna Balch know and she
will give you one.
University Presbyterian Church
If you will not be seeking financial aid, please in-
form Glenna Balch in the Financial Aid Office. For more See Alison in the dean’s office
information, contact Glenna Balch. for more information.
 Issue 174 www.austinseminary.typepad.com/portal/kairos.html
Proposed Voting Process
For Student Body President, Student Senate,
Elections Commissioner and Committee Representatives
The Student Senate is proposing a change to the
Constitution regarding the election of student officers.
The proposal will be presented, discussed, and consid-
ered at an upcoming Manna. What follows is a descrip-
tion of the current situation and the proposal for change.
The idea behind changing our election system to
an instant runoff vote (single transferable vote) system is
to limit the amount of time we spend on elections and to
ensure that each voter’s voice is given an equal say.
In previous years our election system has made
for elections that last anywhere from four to eight weeks.
When you count in all the time it takes for nominations,
elections, and then runoff elections, our current system is
very time consuming. As the elections drag on, students
become less interested and candidates can become more
frustrated. It also ties up extra time for the elections com-
missioner, Student Senate, and candidates during the end
of the spring semester.
During runoff elections voter turnout is almost,
always much lower than for the original election. Voters
voices aren’t heard because they don’t participate or be-
cause they no longer care for either candidate.
The proposed system would allow for voters to
vote their preference of candidate no matter what situa-
tion arises. The proposed election system would bring
the election cycle down to about 4 weeks at most. Be-
cause of the way the elections would be conducted, there
would be no runoff elections (they would be built into the
first ballots) and candidates would be elected in a much
quicker amount of time. The ballots would ask the voter to
rank the candidates in order of preference to be used in
case no candidate is elected immediately. Because voters
rank the candidates they always have a say in the elec-
tion process and they never have to make a choice be-
tween the “lesser of evils.”
Here is (hopefully) a simple breakdown of how
the proposed voting system works. There are other expla-
nations on the Internet, and there are links to them at the
end of this letter. This example will use the student body
president election as the example.
1. Adam, Billy, Cindy, and Diane are all nominated
and are running for president.
2. Students are given (electronically using email and
the Internet) a ballot that asks them to rank ALL
candidates by preference.
3. After the election has ended the first preferences
For more information, contact Melissa Koerner, Student Body President, or Matthew Thompson, Senator.
Page 3
are tallied up as everyone’s vote and the results
show the Diane has 30 votes, Cindy 27, Billy 26,
and Adam 17. Since no candidate has reached a
majority something else has to happen to elect a
candidate. Normally we would have a second
round of voting with new ballots. In the proposed
system we move to the instant runoff.
4. Adam has the lowest vote count and so his bal-
lots are redistributed based on the second prefer-
ence. Let’s assume that most of Adam’s support-
ers favored Billy and to a lesser extent Diane and
Cindy. The new tally is Diane 33, Cindy 31, and
Billy 36.
5. We still have no majority winner and so another
instant runoff is held, this time Cindy’s ballots are
redistributed based on the next preference. As-
suming most of Cindy’s support went to Diane the
new tally is Diane 58 and Billy 42. Diane is de-
clared the winner because she now has a major-
ity of the votes.
All this happened within a matter of minutes once
the final vote was cast and each and every person’s ballot
was counted in a way they preferred. While the system
seems more difficult, it is actually a much more efficient
and fair way of holding an election.
While the system isn’t exactly the same when it
comes to electing senators or committee representatives
the guiding principles are the same. This is because we
aren’t electing a single winner but multiple winners in a
single election. There is an added step in redistributing
some of the votes. This system is officially called single
transferable vote instead of instant runoff voting.
If you would like to learn more about the pro-
posed system or watch some really cool videos check out
these web resources.
http://instantrunoff.com/
http://www.fairvote.org/
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rLVAF6M-FcQ - the
easiest/shortest way to get acquainted with the proposed
voting system.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Instant-runoff_voting
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Single_transferable_vote
Yes the last two come from Wikipedia, but they are accu-
rate and in depth and provide a good picture of what IRV
and STV are.
 Issue 174 www.austinseminary.typepad.com/portal/kairos.html Page 4

Monday, March 16th

WEEKLY CALENDAR OF EVENTS
8:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m. Interim Pastor Training – Laura Harris McMillan 201/211
9:00 a.m. – 3:00 p.m. Lee Elementary Chess Camp—David Jensen McMillan 210
MARCH 16-MARCH 22, 2009

Tuesday, March 17th

8:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m. Interim Pastor Training – Laura Harris McMillan 201/211
9:00 a.m. – 3:00 p.m. Lee Elementary Chess Camp—David Jensen McMillan 210

Wednesday, March 18th

8:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m. SW Ministry Development Center Group Assessment McCord 201
8:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m. Interim Pastor Training – Laura Harris McMillan 201/ 211
9:00 a.m. – 3:00 p.m. Lee Elementary Chess Camp—David Jensen McMillan 210
6:00 – 9:00 p.m. Balcones Community Orchestra – Outside Group McMillan 211

Thursday, March 19th

7:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m. Interim Pastor Training – Laura Harris McMillan 201/211
8:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m. SW Ministry Development Center Group Assessment McCord 201
9:00 a.m. – 3:00 p.m. Lee Elementary Chess Camp—David Jensen McMillan 210

Friday, March 20th

8:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m. Interim Pastor Training – Laura Harris McMillan 201/211
8:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m. SW Ministry Development Center Group Assessment McCord 201

Saturday, March 21st

8:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m. Interim Pastor Training – Laura Harris McMillan 201

Sunday, March 22nd

2:00 – 3:30 p.m. Austin Girl’s Choir – Sara McClure Shelton Chapel

Submissions to Kairos: Email submissions to the editor, Paul Dubois, at Kairos@austinseminary.edu. Calendar events and room reservation
requests should be sent to Jackie McCully at jmccully@austinseminary.edu or made in person at the McCord desk. Editorial decisions are based
on urgency, availability of space, and editorial guidelines. Deadline is Wednesday at 5:00 P.M. Submissions made after deadline must be
accompanied by a dunkel.

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If so, we’d like to hear. We are committed to dialogue.
Letters to the editor will be published. See page 7 of this issue for our editorial guidelines.