The Annual Review
January 5, 2012 by Anne Wenger
Filed under Discipleship, Priorities, Recent MMMs
James M. Kenderdine,
Professor Emeritus,
Marketing & Supply Chain Management,
The University of Oklahoma,
[Jan. 15, 2012]—
“Your Annual Report is due January 2nd to your Department Chair.”
I came to genuine faith in Christ in January of 1985 after 16 years of teaching at Oklahoma. As an Associate Professor I loved teaching, but my ambition and focus were really on research and becoming a full professor. That year some colleagues and I were working on a major study of the correlates of success in wholesaling. Prior to that time I had been a typical religious person who attended church and even occasionally was stirred to a deeper understanding of what the matter of faith had to do with life. Becoming a Christian rocked my little academic world in unexpected ways.
God-appointed Interruptions
Reviewing statistical data, drafting and refining our analysis seemed never-ending jobs. I became very frustrated when students came to my office outside the posted office hours, often for what seemed to be no apparent reason. As a student left one day, I remember thinking “I could get so much done if it were not for these darn interruptions!” Immediately I sensed the Holy Spirit telling me “These interruptions are your job.”
Hearing that, I stopped what I was doing and just sat still. My view of my job and my priorities changed in that golden moment. Instead of resenting the interruptions, I began to look forward to them.
The reminder about the annual report was never something I eagerly welcomed each December. As I struggled, thinking “This report probably won’t please either my Chair or the Dean” the Holy Spirit reminded me, “You don’t work just for them. You work for God. You should be most concerned about whether or not what you have done this past year pleases Him.”
New Perspective
Wow, what a concept! When I finished my report and looked it over, I realized that it had been a great year when seen from the proper perspective. Not the kind of year that would get me a big raise perhaps. But the Holy Spirit taught me something valuable: What I am paid is not the best measure of my true value or worth; it is just money.
Those two moments changed my life as a college professor. My only regret is that they came so late in my career.
© 2010 James M. Kenderdine
© istockphoto
Coarse Objectives
December 11, 2011 by Anne Wenger
Filed under Discipleship, Priorities, Recent MMMs, Sharing Your Faith, Student interaction
Phillip A Bishop,
Exercise Kinesiology,
University of Alabama,
[Jan. 8,2012]–
They have to be a bit coarse, because I’m not sure how the class will go. If I can see the target I want to hit, I may still miss, but if I can’t even see the target, any success is pure luck. I need objectives.
It is the start of another academic term. I need a target here too. For newer faculty, the objectives are pretty clear: do those things that will earn a permanent spot on the faculty of this fine institution. For those of us who have been around a while, the objectives may be more flexible, or at least simpler.
Nor long remember…
I contemplate my own long career in the University, the papers written and the talks given. And as I reflect, Abraham Lincoln’s words at Gettysburg come to mind. “The world will little note, nor long remember what we say here.” Lincoln was wrong about his own words, but I suspect that my words won’t be remembered very long. So setting goals of papers published and grant proposals submitted, though important, usually does not have value for long.
Here are some more important goals from which we can choose:
- Show the love of Christ in our classes.
- Encourage Christian students.
- Identify ourselves as Christians on campus at appropriate times and places.
- Invite students to our homes for pizza and discussion of the Big Questions in life.
- Contact the leader of a Christian student group and offer to be of service.
- Start a prayer meeting.
Volunteer to…
- Meet with Christian colleagues.
- Mentor a younger faculty member academically and spiritually.
- Give a service talk with a minor or major Christian apologetic to fraternities, sororities, etc.
- Go on a Christmas break, spring break or other retreat that a Christian student group has planned.
- Help an international group.
- Go on an international mission trip with a Christian student group.
- Speak to students or in the community when you take an international trip. (Contact Faculty Commons for more info).
I have tried all of these but one, and they have all proved enjoyable and productive, at times. Don’t be intimidated by the list, just pick out a few objectives for the year, and go with those.
As professors we have numerous opportunities on one of the best mission fields in the world. Let’s set some objectives and ask the Holy Spirit to bless our efforts.
© 2012 Phillip A. Bishop
© istockphoto