The Race

Noel Caldwell,
Midlands Tech (Retired),
Columbia, South Carolina
[Feb 7, 2010]—
Do you ever ask what really remains from all your years in academia?

Some of my most gratifying experiences have been occasions when a student, staff member, or one of my faculty peers came to faith in Jesus Christ. At times resistance to the message of the gospel was encountered, but they are overshadowed by more lasting moments.

Meeting Steve

In the early 1970s, soon after I moved into academia from my engineering job, I recruited Steve to our faculty. When his family arrived in town, I met them at their rental house and helped them unpack. From that simple gesture on a sticky August day our friendship grew.

In the weeks that followed, Steve and I made several trips throughout South Carolina while establishing a new program in our department. These trips gave time to become better acquainted and for me to share my faith in Christ. I told him how God had worked in my life, and invited him to attend a Christian movie with me.

A few weeks later Steve stopped by my office early one morning. He said that watching the movie made him realize that he was not certain that he would go to heaven when he died. We went through Scriptures that talked about our sins and Christ’s payment for them. Then Steve prayed, giving his life to Jesus Christ.

Within days his wife Dottie and their two children became followers of Christ, also. They joined a church and Steve had a positive Christian influence on his students, faculty and staff. When he took another position at a college in Montana we stayed in touch and visited from time to time, even when he became a safety engineer at an aerospace firm near Seattle.

The Beginning and Conclusion

In January of 2008 Steve called to tell us of Dottie’s sudden illness and death. Though Steve was sad, he was not discouraged in his faith. A memorial service was planned, but delayed, because of Steve’s own deteriorating health. Almost a year later to the day of his wife’s death, Steve passed away.

My wife and I flew across the country to attend a combined memorial service. As we sat in the service we realized that we had seen both the beginning and conclusion of the earthly portion of our friends’ spiritual journeys.

Life is very much like a race and we all run to cross the finish line. When cancer invaded my body several years ago, I thought I was approaching the finish line. During treatment I reflected on the joys of being a Christian in academia. I had been able to share the Good News with students, staff, and my colleagues. I had no regrets.

Having now recovered from my cancer, I am still running for the finish line in my own race of life.

© 2010 Noel Caldwell

Mentoring

John Marson Dunaway,
French & Interdisciplinary Studies,
Mercer University, Macon, GA

[Jan 31, 2010]—

As a student, I was inspired by the example of a Christian professor who became like a second father to me.

Wallace Fowlie was a master lecturer and a prolific publishing scholar. But most importantly, he was a man of faith who was dedicated to mentoring his students.

The Wise Advisor

Fowlie was a constant source of support and encouragement and a wise advisor. His recommendations counted heavily in getting me a good start in the profession.

Throughout my own career, I’ve concentrated my research and writing efforts on religious writers of modern France, introduced to me by Fowlie. The philosophers and writers Jacques Maritain and Simone Weil, deeply devout Christians, devoted their lives to examining the most urgent social and philosophical issues of their time in the light of faith. They especially have fed me intellectually and spiritually for many years.

A few years ago, a senior French major (call him Brad) was returning from a semester in France with great enthusiasm for French philosophers. He asked me to be his instructor for an independent reading course on a recent French philosopher, suggesting perhaps Albert Camus or Jean-Paul Sartre. I told him that I would be happy to direct his course but suggested he also consider Maritain or Weil.

His Spiritual And Intellectual Quest

Brad did some research on Maritain and was eager to get started. He wrote that he was inspired by reading about Maritain’s spiritual and intellectual quest during his student days.

In the prevailing skepticism of the Sorbonne of the early twentieth century, Maritain and his young wife Raïssa were so discouraged that they made a pact to commit suicide if they were unable to find genuine meaning in life within a year’s time. The following year, they discovered the work of St.Thomas Aquinas, who became their guide for life.

Brad said he related completely to the young Maritains’ desperate search for meaning.So I was able to spend an entire semester discussing one of my favorite writers with a very bright student who was genuinely motivated, not only to study the material but also to use it in his own faith journey.

Good Friends

We became very good friends, and I was able to do a few of the things for him that Wallace Fowlie had done for me when I was his age. I knew Fowlie was smiling down from heaven.

Brad went on to do a Master’s program, studying in Paris for a year; his thesis was an application of Maritain’s aesthetics to the poetry of Charles Baudelaire.

Though Brad is not yet ready to make a commitment, he knows that I’m praying for his salvation. I feel gratified to have his friendship. And I trust God to bring Brad into a full relationship with Christ in His good time. The Holy Spirit works in unexpected ways when we commit our lives—including our careers—to Him.

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