Vocare

Lonnie R. Welch,
School of Electrical Engineering & Computer Science,
Ohio University

[Jan 29, 2011]–

def. vocāre “to call”

A student whom I mentor said: “I want my life as a Christian to have a direct impact on people. I don’t want to be stuck in an office, having to write proposals and research papers.” I countered: “Being a professor opens up many doors for touching lives.”

I could say this with assurance because I am entering my third decade as a professor, and I have reflected on how God has led me progressively into a life of full-time Christian service in academia:

• In my first decade, He taught me how to succeed as a professor and still be a godly husband and father, lessons that were training grounds for the next decade.

• In the second one, two things ignited a passion in me to serve God full-time as a professor. Reading The Case for a Creator by Lee Strobel led me to view my research as actually a study of God’s creation and an opportunity to commune with my Creator. Hearing William Lane Craig speak, “On Being a Christian Academic,” at a Cru-sponsored breakfast opened up even greater understanding of how my influence as a professor can be significant ministry.

• As I embark on my third decade as a professor, I continue to do research that builds on the foundation established during the previous decades. Because of the tremendous opportunities I have as a professor, I endeavor to inspire others, both faculty and students, to serve God in secular universities.

The bar is high for entering this mission field, but for those willing to commit their time, talents and resources to the task, numerous opportunities exist for serving God as a professor. Os Guinness expresses in his book, The Call, that calling is the truth that God calls us to Himself so decisively that everything we are, everything we do, and everything we have is invested with a special devotion and dynamism lived as a response to His summons and service.

N.B.

Know of a student sensing a call to become a professor?
Please consider inviting them to join me in June at the Vocare Summer Project. It is sponsored by Faculty Commons in beautiful Durham, North Carolina. Details at http://wannabelikeclive.com.

(c) 2012 Lonnie R Welch

office photo ©istockphoto

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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