- Date Of Birth: October 19, 1941
- Date Of Death: March 24, 2018
- State: Iowa
Dr.
• DR. LILLIAN BRECKENRIDGE
Lillian grew up in Lynnville—the second and only daughter of Russell and Johanna (Meppelink) Vande Krol. Her siblings were Claren (deceased), Roland (deceased) Delwin of Sully and Douglas of Phoenix, AZ. She is also survived by her step-mother Margaret Vande Krol and her husband, James.
Dr. Lillian Breckenridge, retired Professor Emeritus of Christian Education and Director of Theological Program Assessment at Oral Roberts University, passed away Saturday, March 24, at 76 years of age at of natural causes.
Developmental psychology and sociology of religion were two of Dr. Breckenridge’s favorite academic disciplines. She was passionate about building the kingdom of God through Christian education, which she believed provides everyone an opportunity for a new beginning and greater personal fulfillment. “Changed lives are possible because we change through what we know and how we adapt,” she once observed. “We live more completely through enriched mental perceptions.” She taught marriage conferences across the country and was a qualified administrator of the Meyers Briggs Type Indicator, used for facilitating effectiveness in relationships and educational settings.
Her writing and research projects focused on how contextual influences affect families, marriage, and spiritual formation, and include multiple articles, book chapters, and encyclopedia entries. She and her husband, Dr. James Breckenridge, professor of Theology at ORU, also coauthored a book on cross-cultural ministry, titled What Color Is Your God?
Dr. Breckenridge has four earned degrees: BA., M.R.E., M.A.L.S., and Ph.D. Throughout her career, she received multiple honors, including ORU’s overall Outstanding Faculty Member in 2011 and Outstanding Graduate School of Theology and Ministry Faculty Member in 2005 and 2011, but perhaps the words of one of her students, writing about his seminary experience, best sum up her legacy of passion and purpose:
“I truly know the importance of being a Christian educator now … with all the tools necessary to create and teach for the 21st century.”
