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A New Kind of Leader
By Rachel Wegner 07
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Although his family is well-acquainted with the business world and his father is in upper management at General Motors, Peterson found himself fascinated with sociology and drawn to ministry. Three generations ago, his great-grandfather, G.W. Morse, was the pastor of a prominent church in Zanesville, Ohio, and was hosting big-tent revivals that attracted scores of people.
Carrying on the legacy of his great-grandfather, Peterson is passionate about people and the kingdom of God. Now, with a semester behind him as the Men's Chaplain and a new semester underway, Peterson said he is still amazed and overwhelmingly humbled when he is introduced as part of the administration at ORU. When he was considering the position of Men's Chaplain, he wanted to take it because it would give him the ability to effect change at a deeper level.
"I believe that at a center for academic education where students come from all over the world to study, there is a greater level of influence that comes from this position," Peterson said. "I come across people who will go and change their towns, villages, states and even countries. I may not be a part in the sense of being there, but I am involved in preparing that student for those opportunities. What an opportunity!"
Overseeing the men in the chaplain program and many facets of spiritual life at ORU, Peterson works alongside Women's Chaplain Carol (Brooks) Holderness 85. He finds that his role has built-in accountability, not only from his superiors and peers, but from the men's chaplains underneath him.
"I am now accountable to 45 men," Peterson said. "My life represents them, their lives represent me. My head chaplains have been an inspiration to me. Sometimes I wonder if it's more than I've been an inspiration to them. They have spurred me not to live a nominal life."
In his personal spiritual life, Peterson draws inspiration from the words and teachings of great Christian leaders and authors such as Oswald Chambers and A.W. Tozer.
"There's a depth that these guys have, an intimacy with the Lord and a knowledge of the Lord that I haven't seen lately that I'm seeing in these authors," Peterson said. "I'm drawn by it. They know Jesus."
Amidst an effort to change the culture of ORU for the better and from the inside out, Peterson feels that the spiritual health of the university is good, but has room for improvement. Under the leadership of campus pastor Dean Clarence Boyd and in conjunction with the rest of the Student Development staff, Peterson intentionally pours into the men's head chaplains. In turn, those head chaplains mentor and challenge the wing chaplains underneath them, who then do the same for the students on their wings. In essence, the leadership of Peterson and the Student Development team is effectively passed along to the student body.
Recognizing that this generation needs a different style of leadership than students looked for in the past, Peterson makes an effort to come alongside his chaplains and the students he encounters and help them find the truth in Christ. He challenges others to seek God out for themselves, humbly realizing his own limitations and guiding them as they search for answers to life's questions.
"They want somebody to believe in them," Peterson said. "I have to lead them to Him and let Him work through me."
Referencing Philippians 4:11, Peterson said he wants those he leads to learn how to be content in all things and to trust God, regardless of circumstances.
"You can only do that with Christ," Peterson said. "You have to do it through learning. You have to do it by growing in knowledge of Christ. I want there to be internal growth in them so that when they leave this place, they have an identity that's in Christ and not in circumstances."
Peterson and his wife, Megan, have one son, Eric III, who recently turned 2, and are expecting their second child in August 2009. They attend Woodlake Assembly of God in Tulsa.
