I’m in the mountains at the NNU Faculty Retreat. It’s a wonderful time. Old friends, new colleagues, they’re all gathered here. Summer vacations and summer research projects, they’re all shared. It’s also a wonderful time because it’s the university’s way of saying to itself, “we’re ready.”
Guess what we’re ready for? We’re ready for you! Take a look at the picture I took of everyone at the Retreat. Think about this. In a very real sense they have been preparing for your arrival all of their lives. Each faculty member is the totality of all their studies, their reflection, their life experience, their expertise, and most importantly their walk with God.
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And now, you become the recipient of all that, each person and their preparation. Consider this, at a certain point in each professor’s life, before they were “professor,” they came to a sense of calling, compelled to become the very best they could be in their particular discipline. Furthermore, they realized that this wasn’t a self-absorbed exercise, knowledge for mere knowledge’s sake. No, the calling and the preparation was a means to an end. The end was and is the transformation of lives, both theirs and yours.
We expect that you will not be the same when you graduate from college as you were when you graduated from high school. You will be transformed. The experiences of college, both individually and collectively are transformative; consequently, we have a sacred privilege and responsibility. We have been called to participate in your transformation.
Therefore, we commit to be His disciples, for only then can we model Christ to you. We commit to being learners, for only then can we truly show you the joy of learning. We commit to expecting more of you than you do of yourself, for we delight in the wonder of young men and women discovering knowledge, gifts and capacities beyond their present sense of self.
This season you now enter is one of the most significant chapters life has to offer. Savor it. Enter into it fully. Explore within it. Develop a sense of wonder. Seek earnestly for truth and meaning. Hunger and thirst after righteousness. Develop a host of acquaintances and foster a few deep friendships. Learn to learn from these professors who have prepared so earnestly for you. And, at the appropriate time, not too soon however, identify one or two professors as your mentors.
So, now it’s time for me to ask you, are you ready? I don’t mean are you packed? I know there will still be a few runs to Costco, Wal-Mart, BigK, or Big Bob’s World of Used Carpet. What I’m asking you is this, are you ready to actively participate in the process of transformation God has for you?
I hope you’re ready! We are!
