The Oregon Extension

The full-time OE faculty, listed below, have lived with their families in the small community of Lincoln since the late-’70s and early-’80s. We welcome our students to join us in our learning and faith journeys and hope they will include us in theirs. We take honest questions seriously and try to honor genuine doubt or resistance. We’ve come to trust that God can handle anger and fear, confusion and uncertainty as well as the many questions the ongoing conversation around here provokes. We want to be patient listeners and faithful mentors as our students build foundations for their own convictions.

Nancy Linton

Nancy’s graduate work in education prepared her to pursue her current interests in literature, gender studies and theology. She supervises projects in gender studies, facilitates women’s groups, studies the implications of feminist thought for theology and hearing the biblical text. She also directs and teaches in the OE Women’s Studies May Term, co- facilitates summer contemplative retreats at Lincoln, and offers spiritual direction to individuals and groups.  

John Linton

Nancy’s husband, John, teaches Bible, theology, and philosophy. He reads Greek, Hebrew and French. John studied chemistry and philosophy in college, but he earned his doctorate in Hebrew and Semitic studies because he wants to understand the Bible. John often lectures on difficult biblical texts or theological themes, but his best work probably occurs late at night. Students stop by his house to share a cup of tea and talk about their faith, and often find themselves exploring refreshing new ways to read the Bible. 

Doug Frank

Doug’s doctoral work, at the State University of New York/Buffalo, was in the history of ideas, which he takes as license to read any book with an interesting idea in it. So he reads in many academic disciplines, although he admits he’s out of his depth in the hard sciences. His primary interests are in social and religious history, theology, social theory and psychology. He spends his spare time in conversation with the nearby Klamath Indian and ranching communities. He loves exploring with the students the special problems and opportunities that come with growing up in a conservative Christian church, about which, as a pastor’s son, he has some personal knowledge. He has a deep fascination with Jesus, who he suspects is a much more unsettling mysterious and radical figure than the churches usually give him credit for.

Jessie van Eerden

As a visiting faculty member, Jessie works with students on lit and creative writing projects and facilitates an OE writing group. She has an MFA in nonfiction writing from the University of Iowa, and her essays have appeared in Best American Spiritual Writing, River Teeth, Oxford American and other magazines. Before coming to the OE, she drafted her first novel as the Milton Fellow with Image and Seattle Pacific University, and she’s been teaching for eight years, in college classrooms and GED programs. A West Virginia native, Jessie lives with her husband Mike (OE ‘98). You can find her most recent publications in Image (Fall 2008) and Geez Magazine (Fall & Winter 2008).