John Bacon

In his book, The Importance of Being Foolish, Brennan Manning writes, “The Spirit of God may drive us into the desert to sigh, cry, and pray for the freedom of all humanity, into the arena of national or local politics to legislate it, into the marketplace to preserve it, into the bosom of our families to revitalize it, or in to the heart of our own moribund church to re-create it” (p. 146 – 147).  This eloquent statement encapsulates my vision for teaching.

My vision, simply put, is to educate future generations in the finer points of ethical marketing practices so that they may go into the marketplace and show the world the light of Christ through their professional competencies.  This vision is a culmination of several years of working and searching to find a vocation rather than a job.

While finishing my undergraduate work, I was taking a class in Biblical interpretation.  I began to become impatient with the professor and his attention to, what I considered to be, simple concepts.  However, after we began to build upon these concepts, I began to grasp the importance of understanding the simplicity within complexity.  This concept has become a foundational principle that I teach in every class.

By seeking to find the simplicity within a situation, it unmasks “complex” challenges.  Once the challenges have been deconstructed, they are then able to be dealt with in smaller portions that do not appear as overwhelming as they once had.  I enjoy working with students as we all seek to understand the simplicity within the complexity.

Re-Thinking Marketing Education

  • In marketing courses at Northwest University, we don’t simply talk about marketing we ‘do’ marketing. We conceive, create, implement, and conduct a post-mortem of actual marketing campaigns. To accomplish this, students form themselves into a marketing agency complete with their own logo, colors, name, and organizational structure. By the time the semester is completed, students will be able to state that they have functioned as a marketing intern our client. Over the past six years we have worked with clients such as: Northwest Chevrolet Dealers, the United States Navy, the Itafari Foundation, Thomas Nelson Publishing, and World Vision.

Education

  • 2008, George Fox University, DBA (ABD)
  • 2005, Northwest University, MBA
  • 2003, Northwest College, BA