Maranatha
Just say they’re new
in the neighborhood
By Ann Portal
This article is the first of two parts
on Maranatha, a national religious
group that has started a University
ministry this year.
In the dining room, the metal
baptismal tub with carpeted steps
underscores the fact that the house no
longer belongs to a fraternity
The beer-stained shag carpet that
was in the main meeting room has
been removed Sunlight shines on the
house's original wood floor, on the
recently installed chandeliers, on the
pristine white walls Outside the french
doors, an icy pool waits for house
residents — who are waiting for a $100
swimming pool permit
Maranatha, a nondenominational
campus ministry, has been in its new
home on the corner of 15th and Alder
only since December, although the
group has been on campus since last
May
Slowly, carefully, members of the
evangelical ministry are remodeling
the abused frat house, which has seen
at least two fraternities come and go in
the past two years because of
problems that members had paying the
rent
On the other side of campus.
University Dean of Students Bob
Bowlin is relatively unconcerned about
what the group is doing to the house
He’s more interested in what
Maranatha may be doing to University
students
"I'm concerned about some things
that seem to be so demanding and
putting so much pressure on students
that they are hurting academic
performance," Bowlin says. He says
he knows of at least two students
affiliated with Maranatha who have
had "serious academic difficulties"
this year.
going to run their life. I expect them to
be at everything that they can possibly
be a part of, but I could get
tremendously frustrated trying to
chase them down and make them do
what I want them to do
"You can talk to anybody here and
they’ll all tell you I don't rule over them
with an iron fist. If they’ve really had a
born-again experience, they're going
The local ministry is directly connected to a
nationwide Maranatha organization, which
locates only on college campuses. In the last
9 years, the ministry has moved onto more than
60 campuses in the United States and abroad
"There is some demand for your
time," says Tom Visoky, a Maranatha
member who graduated from the
University winter term "We have
meetings three nights a week "
Some of the students involved in
Maranatha are doing better at their
school work than others, says pastor
Buster Landwehr, who moved to
Eugene with his wife Pat in September
But he says he doesn't encourage
anyone to participate in the religious
meetings at the expense of their
studies
"The Bible talks about submission to
authority,” Landwehr says. “I'm not
to want to be committed " He says he
cautions students against becoming
"so spiritually minded that they're no
earthly good."
A former fraternity member himself,
Landwehr's low-key approach and
earnest commitment is attracting
students to the large white house
About 16 men and women now live
there and four more say they will move
in next month, Landwehr says
"I just don't let anybody move in
One guy wanted to just live here for no
apparent reason," he says
Part of the attraction may have been
cheap living expenses Each month,
Maranatha, a nondenominational religious organization is
the latest occupant of this former frat house at the corner of
15th and Alder. Its more interesting features Include an
indoor baptismal tub and an outdoor swimming pool.
house residents contribute $150
toward the $3,000 rent and about $80
for food expenses A part-time cook
lives in the house; the rest of the
chores are shared on a rotating basis
The local ministry is directly
connected to a nationwide Maranatha
organization, which locates only on
college campuses In the last nine
years, the ministry has moved onto
more than 60 campuses in the United
States and abroad, including Oregon
State University, where a ministry
began last school year The ultimate
goal, Landwehr says, is a ministry on
every campus in the world
•'That’s really the burden that God
has placed in our heart,” he says,
adding that "God's definitely speeded
up the work" in the past several years
Landwehr downplays the influence
of the national organization, which he
says has only provided emergency
funds for starting up the University
ministry However, about $5,000
already has been spent remodeling the
local Maranatha house
"We have a lot of different ways of
covering our bills," Visoky says "We
get money from the outside all the
time "
The University ministry also received
about half of a $3,000 collection at a
Seattle Maranatha convention, Visoky
says "The one in Seattle is really
flowing in bucks — they've got two
houses People have been giving them
paint, furniture, a stove We've been
living out of crock pots — we've got
about six of them right now "
Actually, the crock pots were
recently put away when an ancient
stove was located for the house The
Landwehrs also have added
refrigerators and a freezer, plastered
torn-up walls and repaired cracked
ceilings "Nobody would have wanted
to live here I didn't want to live here."
says Pat Landwehr
Buster Landwehr talks optimistically
about getting curtains and a b>g blue
rug for the meeting room "I'd like this
house to be as beautiful as any house
on this block,” he says
Maranatha has time to accomplish
that goal The group has signed a
five-year lease with the house's owner,
who would like to sell the house to
Maranatha for $500,000 at that time
Landwehr says
The only way out of the lease is if the
landlord doesn’t fireproof the
basement as promised, Landwehr
says
The lease is probably at least one
reason why Maranatha members
would like the campus to like them —
and what they're doing Landwehr and
Visoky both say they have "heard the
rumors" on campus that Maranatha is
a "cult," and they say they want to
dispel those rumors
"Naturally when there s something
new on campus and it really starts
doing something they say hey —
what's going on,' ” Landwehr says
Tomorrow: Is Maranatha a cult?
Photo by Bob Baker
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