CASSIE ROBERTSON
Staff Writer
Dr. Daniel Rodriguez is one man who truly practices what he preaches. The gifted Pepperdine associate professor of religion is not only passionate about urban ministry, but he has lived and continues to live his life in a way that embodies Pepperdine’s mission statement: “Freely ye received, freely give.”
“Dr. Dan,” as his students affectionately call him, has taught various courses in religion and Hispanic studies at Pepperdine University since he began his teaching career in 1994. The most important things in his life have been “walking the talk,” or doing actual hard work and research to spread Christianity.
Rodriguez’ life is dedicated to evangelism and church-planting. He describes his work as “urban missions,” otherwise known as “serving and restoring at-risk, underserved inner-city communities with good works, like relief, development and structural change and the Good News of Jesus Christ.”
Students may be surprised to learn that although Rodriguez is dedicated to teaching and spreading the Gospel, it was not always his life ambition. Rodriguez, who grew up during the ‘60s and early ‘70s, said he was convinced he wanted to change the world through politics, so he majored in political science when he transferred to Pepperdine his junior year.
“I was a political science major and I wanted to go into law and become a politician,” said Rodriguez. “I grew up in the barrio where there was new political activism and people talking about change, and realizing that we needed more political power to get the change we wanted.”
But Rodriguez never became the next Barack Obama. Instead, he impacted the world in a different way: through urban ministry. He believes that God influenced this decision, which he made during his time as a Pepperdine student.
“I had one of those kind of life transforming God moments,” said Rodriguez. At a missions conference in Texas, he found himself greatly moved. “I was mysteriously drawn by the speaker to challenge my desires to go into politics.”
“I felt deep in my being that God was actually speaking to me, revealing his desire for me to become a preacher, specifically a minister to Spanish-speaking Latin America. Even though I didn’t speak Spanish at the time, I knew that I had to yield to what I was convinced was God’s will for me.”
That single experience helped Rodriguez find his niche. “So I became a religion major,” he said. Furthermore, as if the experience wasn’t life-changing enough, “Going to that workshop is where I met the girl who ended up becoming my wife,” Rodriguez said with a smile.
Rodriguez stated that both he and his wife both graduated from Pepperdine and became involved with the Davis Park Church of Christ in Modesto, Calif. Then, for nine years, Rodriguez and his family lived in Puebla, Mexico, where his children grew up.
Rodriguez’ daughter Meredith, a Pepperdine alum, says that asking her to describe nine years of missionary work in Mexico is like asking her to describe her entire childhood.
“It’s kind of weird if you think about it: I was raised with pretty humble beginnings in Mexico,” said Meredith. “My dad also had humble beginnings in L.A. It’s weird to think that my parents now live in Malibu—land of beaches and movie stars—and that their house overlooks the Pacific. That was never something they aimed for,” said Meredith.
After spending nine years as a missionary, living in Malibu seems extremely posh. But living in Mexico greatly helped Rodriguez in his work. “I’m a third generation Mexican, and I grew up here. Part of the reason I went to Mexico was to understand the immigrant, and where they come from,” said Rodriguez. “Being able to speak Spanish is an incredible advantage.”
Rodriguez and his wife never expected to be able to return to Pepperdine, much less receive their beautiful house on a hill. “When we left in 1978, my wife and I thought it would be wonderful some day to come back and teach at Pepperdine. When the opportunity came, it was a dream come true,” said Rodriguez. “To me, even on a bad day it is so great to be here.”
Rodriguez calls his family a true Pepperdine family. “We’re all Pepperdine Heidelberg alums and diehard Wave fans,” said Rodriguez. He gives back to the university through teaching and even hosting “MMM’s,” or Monthly Missions Meetings, at his house in Drescher Campus.
“The reason we call it the MMM is because my wife cooks really good food, and we talk about interesting things in the world. Mmm!” said Rodriguez with a laugh.
Dr. Rodriguez and his wife, Jeanette, are very involved on campus. “We host dorm events a couple times a year for Alpha, a freshmen girls dorm. We have also hosted Christmas parties for student and faculty,” said Rodriguez.
It is easy to see why the couple has many visitors, because they have an “unobstructed view, 180 degrees of all the ocean,” said Rodriguez. “The commute is wonderful too,” he added. “Five minutes from my house to my office, what’s not to love?”
One of the most amazing things about Dr. Rodriguez is his influence on his family. Family friend, assistant in the Religion Division and Pepperdine alum Tiffany Ferguson got to know the family well during an international trip that Rodriguez used to teach students about the religions of East Asia.
“At one point in China, all the Rodriguez’ were with us on our trip. Dr. Dan’s wife Jeanette was just as excited about the trip as we were and she took great care of us while we were away from home, especially when several students came down with stomach problems due to the change in our diets,” said Ferguson.
“All of Dr. Dan’s children inherited their father’s fervor for spreading the gospel and his kind, fun, and adventurous spirit,” she added.
Faith has always been important in the Rodriguez family. “It’s played the most important role,” said daughter Meredith. “Everything we do is centered around it. My dad is the kind of guy who practices what he preaches.”
Rodriguez has not only influenced his family to go out and spread the Gospel (his sons Martin and Marcus and daughter Monica are all involved in Christian ministry), but he has also had an incredible impact on his students, to the point of even performing weddings for some. Many of his students, he says, have become close family friends, and still more are in the world of missions, putting into practice what Rodriguez taught them.
“I have a lot of students who have done and are doing missions work right now, in China, Central Asia, Africa and Latin America. I also have a lot of students who have done short term work,” said Rodriguez. “Four church planters in East Hollywood were all students of mine in my urban ministry class. One of the four church planters was in my Spanish 151 class the very first semester I taught at Pepperdine.”
Students also love Rodriguez back. Sarah Parker says he is not only a great teacher, but also a close friend. “He’s not afraid to challenge his students to live to their fullest potential and respond to God’s calling on their lives,” said Parker. “Students often complain about his classes being too difficult, but in all reality, if you take care of your work, you’ll be fine.”
Student Chad Iwertz says taking the urban ministries and religions of the world classes with Rodriguez were “incredible experiences.”
“Both personally and as a professor, I think Dr. Rodriguez has challenged what I think it means to be a Christian living in today’s world and what it means to be a student of Christ living an hour or two from downtown Los Angeles,” said Iwertz.
Rodriguez’ contagious excitement about God has changed his view of teaching this generation of Pepperdine students. “The Christian community is more diverse now,” said Rodriguez. “We all have a deep commitment to Christ and using our learning and scholarship and teaching to influence people to be not just great professionals but great people. Now, we say, ‘Let’s integrate faith and learning.’”
“The mission Pepperdine has embraced for itself is something I get very excited about. Now it is much more Christian than it was in the ‘70s,” said Rodriguez.
Rodriguez believes he owes a lot to Pepperdine University for his success. But, no doubt, Pepperdine also owes a lot to him. His teaching career has caused students to live out Pepperdine’s mission statement.
Student Body President Andy Canales is also proud to call Rodriguez a positive influence. “I’ve decided to teach social studies in at-risk high school in Miami for two years through Teach for America, a program Dr. Dan first introduced me to three years ago,” said Canales.
Everyone from his students to his colleagues comment on his extreme passion for what he teaches, a passion that he lives out daily.
“I think Pepperdine has some of the most awesome people in the world. I think they’re smart, driven and care about more than just temporary, outward success,” said daughter Meredith. “I think my dad embodies that aspect of Pepperdine.”
03-25-2008
