Compassion > Hate

In the right hand column of this page, one of the gadgets is a list of four related news headlines and summaries. I’d like to encourage you to read this one. It tells the story of a sleeper terrorist who was in a horrible car accident, and the Christian medical professionals who healed him and their love and compassion revealed to him his own hate. In time, he surrendered to Christ. The Christians didn’t apparently know (at least at first) who they were treating, they just loved him as a fellow human being, paid for his medical, a new car, and housed him as part of one of their families. The power of the Gospel is in love.

SDG

Pick-Up Men

No, this is not about singles bars.

Yesterday, pastor talked about the rodeo. He told (and showed video) of how in the bucking bronco or bull events, there are always two guys on horseback whose job it is to come alongside and catch or otherwise protect the rider when they lose their grip. These are the pick-up men, with the name deriving from picking the hapless rider up from their dirt sandwich.

Their role varies depending on the situation. If time and circumstances permit, they come alongside and the rider can be pulled off of his mount and carried to safety with them on their horses. If the rider is thrown to the dirt, they ride with the riderless mount and keep it from coming back to trample the rider. Thus, it sometimes appears to the casual observer that the thrown rider is abandoned, but he is actually being protected and given time to recover from the shock and get up.

Regardless of your views on the rodeo and these events in particular, there are some important spiritual lessons to be learned here. As the household of faith, we are to be “pick-up men (and women)” for each other and even for those outside of the faith. We are to be on hand to support one another, catch one another and protect one another. This is summed up in the commandment from yesterday’s post that we are to “Love one another.”

Another aspect of pick-up men is that they are former riders themselves, so they know what is happening and have experienced what the rider is going through and so can anticipate what is about to happen, position themselves and respond appropriately.

Similarly, this is why the Lord calls us from all walks of life and all backgrounds, so that we can be those who understand from where another is coming and minister to the real needs effectively. So, as faculty members, we are uniquely positioned to be “pick-up faculty” to our colleagues and minister to students around us.

The pastor talked of how many churches follow the “3 B’s”: Believe, Behave, and then Belong. He wants our congregation to focus on the last ‘B’--first and foremost, people are to Belong, and then let God worry about the Believin’ and the Behavin’. We belong, we hear the word of truth and His Spirit works to bring about the rest, and the rest of us come alongside to support the process and help pick up the pieces when human nature jumps in.

SDG

Teaching All Kinds

For one of my lab courses, I have them write a one-page essay on “What I Want To Do With My Life.” Then, I meet with each of them individually to discuss it and offer some suggestions on getting to whatever their next step is. No, it doesn’t have anything to do with physical chemistry. But we do so little to help our students prepare for life post-graduation that I think it is important. Most of the students agree strongly. Many thank me saying none of their other instructors have shown personal interest in them like this. But that’s not what I want to talk about. (Though if it offers you any ideas, feel free to use them!)

It is interesting to see the variety of dreams and plans they have, and nice to be able to share in those with them. A number of them reveal they are Christians in various ways—some by writing their essay somewhat evangelistically, some by commenting somehow about their faith, or by a chance phrase they might say in the interview. Whenever I pick up on it, I enjoy sharing my faith with them as well, and it is a mutual encouragement.

But I also have students coming from the complete other end of the spectrum. One of the questions I ask most students is “What are you passionate about?” Today, one student grew emphatic about his antipathy towards incorrect thinking about science, “things like the Intelligent Design movement!” Though I did my best not to react, he must have picked up on something, because he instantly switched to some scientific inaccuracy in a “Doctor Who” episode he saw. (For my take on the topic, see here.)

The rest of our time continued as normal, and I helped him just as completely and enthusiastically as everyone else. Sure, that’s the ‘professional’ thing to do, but it is also what love does. Christ fed thousands of people, some of whom would later shout, “Crucify!” He healed ten lepers knowing nine wouldn’t thank Him. He did it because He loved them as His children, not because He would get anything from them. It is called grace.

He did it without a word of explanation, and most probably never realized who they had just encountered. It is the same with this student. I had the opportunity to show love to him and help equip him for a successful career, and I gave it to him, even if he chooses to use that career to attack my faith.

Ministering meets the need without asking anything in return, and even with risk of hurt. Jesus ministered and received crucifixion. Helping this student was a no brainer.

“Always share your faith. If necessary, use words.”         -St. Francis

SDG

Opportunities Abound!

Long story short: to meet some guidelines allowing my lab course to have a writing flag, I had to add an assignment. It needed to be short and useful, because the course is already too much work for one hour of credit. I came up with a 1-page essay on “What I Want to Do with My Life,” followed by a 15 minute, 1 on 1 appointment with me to discuss it.

Turns out, this assignment is one of the best things I’ve ever done. I have discovered myriad benefits of which I could never have dreamed. I will get several complaints that I don’t give enough info (font, spacing margins, etc.) and it drives some type-A’s nuts. This gives me a chance to explain that in the real world, when the boss wants a 2 page progress report, they don’t care about formatting aside from good spelling, grammar and readability—they just want the info, and the page length indicates how much time they want to spend on it. I also use it to reveal to students how in the real world, they are always being evaluated, even on things that aren’t explicitly spelled out, as a way of measuring maturity and professionalism, so they always need to pay attention to detail and their p’s and q’s.

Many don’t have a clue, even as seniors, what to do with their lives, and no clue how to figure it out. There is a general sense of needing a job, but not a vision for their lives. I have had the privilege and blessing of helping them find tools to discover one. Many are astounded that a faculty member would take this kind of time for them and are grateful for the personalized discussion.

I always end by giving them an opportunity to ask me any question they want. Often, it is something along the lines of “Well, how did you get to where you are today?” As my faith is central to the story, having nearly gone to seminary at several points, it gives me a chance to identify myself as a Christian to them individually, and has often led to some great conversations and spiritual guidance. It is a great comfort to Christian students when they discover one of their instructors is also a believer. And when a non-believing student discovers I’m a Christian in the very context of ministering to a secular need of theirs, it is a strong testimony. They already see I’m different because I meet with them, and now they can see why.

If I were to choose one saying as a life motto, it is from St. Francis, “Always share your faith. If necessary, use words.”

SDG