Dialogues with Denise

John Marson Dunaway,
French and Interdisciplinary Studies,
Mercer University

[Mar.4, 2012]–

I first arrived at Mercer, a freshly-minted young Ph.D., an assistant professor of French, painfully aware of how many of the great books of the Western world I had yet to read.

One of the greatest evidences of God’s providential care for me during my teaching career was that my closest colleague at Mercer for the first two decades of my tenure was a Frenchwoman named Denise Juillard whose literary and spiritual interests were strikingly similar to my own. During the job interview I learned that she had met Julien Green. Green was born in Paris to American parents whose deeply Southern roots imbued his French writings, including his masterpiece Moira , with a yearning for place.

Green was the novelist who was the subject of my dissertation. My colleague Denise, I learned, encountered Green in such a remarkable way that he had described the encounter in his published Journal. Eventually, Denise married the French novelist Vladimir Volkoff, and I had the privilege of becoming one of his many American friends.

Motivating Exchanges

Denise and I arranged to lunch together about once a week in the campus snack-bar, where we enjoyed animated conversations in French. It was great for my vocabulary and fluency, but it was also a chance to be mentored by a wise colleague who had an unusually rich knowledge of literature and the arts.

During these fascinating dialogues with Denise, she would often mention a book she had enjoyed and ask me if I’d read it. My frequent embarrassed negative response was never greeted by a supercilious or sarcastic attitude on her part. Instead, she always said something like: “Oh, well, I envy your having that great pleasure to look forward to.” Such an admirably gracious remark had the effect of inspiring and encouraging me and was one of the most endearing qualities of this wonderful colleague and friend.

Humility Modeled

In the academic world, it’s a constant temptation to allow our knowledge to make us want to lord it over those who are less well-read than we are. Saint Paul, who was one of the best-educated men of his time, however, wrote in I Corinthians 8:1 that “knowledge puffs up, but charity edifies.”

Though Denise speaks several languages and has read many more of the great books than I, she had the kindness and humility to be an encourager for me during the formative years of my teaching career. I’ll always be grateful to her for that generosity of spirit. While I learned a wealth of French language and culture from her, I also learned from her example that a good mentor must be a gracious encourager.

What quality have you found most helpful in your mentors?

(c) 2012 John Marson Dunaway
(c) istockphoto

http://www.myministryminute.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/10/dunaway-copy.jpg

Adversities Transformed

Duane Keilstrup,
Professor Emeritus,
German,
University of Texas-Arlington

[February 5, 2012] –

I was never a cutting-edge scholar, dynamic orator, or award-winning teacher during my career in academia. I was, however, in love with the Lord Jesus Christ, and by His grace God led me one spring to be part of a Faculty Commons short-term mission to universities in South Africa.

Although unsure of how I might contribute, I was excited to be a part of this amazing pioneering outreach. Yet my willingness to be used by God did not exempt me from adversities — before, during, and after this trip. At the time I was suffering from severe acid reflux and ulcer problems that continued throughout my stay in Johannesburg. We were, of course, asked to speak before several campus groups, and I feared I would not have the stamina and clarity to present my lectures.

Unusual Freedom

Amazingly, however, each time I approached the podiums, I felt completely free of pain. In Christian faculty workshops I explained how the Holy Spirit led me to integrate the Gospel into my teaching of German language and culture, and these workshops led to opportunities to share in more detail on an individual basis as well.

On the third day a Campus Crusade student leader introduced me to a science professor whose wife had been witnessing to him. This professor had expressed interest but had not come to a decision. He told us he felt he just needed a push. Sensing the Holy Spirit’s leading, I shared my testimony with him. Though hearing the details of my journey with the Lord made sense to him, he still was not ready to accept Christ’s forgiveness for himself.

Positive Results

However, later at the end of our mission, as our group was about to board the plane for our flight home, the news came that he had indeed finally come to Christ. In addition, I later learned that the speech I gave to the faculty at Johannesburg College opened additional doors for my host professor to share Christ with small student groups.

Upon returning home, new adversities arose. First I received a few mean-spirited teaching evaluations, something I had never faced before. On that same day a confrontation with an out-of-control lab technician erupted. I suddenly plunged from the spiritual African mountaintop experience into a valley of frustration and disappointment. Hadn’t I done what God wanted?

Simple Gifts

The very next morning God graciously intervened through an earthly angel in the form of a custodian who left a beautiful drawing with words of encouraging Scripture on my desk. God clearly led this young man to provide encouragement, because he had no way of knowing about my problems.

More drawings arrived daily, and I developed a friendship with this man. I learned about his own problems and his need for mutual encouragement. The expression of his faith through art encouraged me to continue to share Christ with others on my own campus, even as I had done in South Africa.

Through all of this God reminded me that sharing acts of kindness and God’s Word can contribute more to the present and eternal lives of others than we may ever know on earth. And clearly the Lord intervened to transform adversities on my own campus as well as on campuses abroad into His victories.

©2012 Duane Keilstrup

climbing photo ©istockphoto

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