Out of my mind:
Pick one professor
Charles Edward White
Issue date: 8/29/08 Section: Opinion
One of the best things about choosing a small university like is the accessibility of professors. Most of us live in town and you can see us in church, running the P loop or buying groceries at Hutch's. During the day when we aren't in class you can usually find us in our offices, the dining commons, the library, or walking around campus.
Even more important than physical proximity is the relational accessibility we all want to cultivate. We teach at Spring Arbor University because we not only love our disciplines, we also really love our students. We are people people who feel called by God to invest in the lives of others. We know the most important part of the Great Commission is "make disciples" so we want to talk with you, pray with you, and share life with you.
In high school the gap between student and teacher was huge, and nobody wanted to be seen as a brown-noser. But it's different in college. We professors can handle the various roles we may play in your lives. We are mature enough to be able to pray with you outside class, and ten minutes later, challenge you in class if you turn in shoddy work.
Most professors don't want to force their friendship on students, and no professor is lonely with time on her or his hands, so we don't often take the initiative. But when a student comes to us and wants to be mentored, or discipled or simply befriended, we are eager to respond.
So here's a challenge for this year. Find one professor you really like or feel drawn to. Ask her or him if you can meet together for 20 minutes a week over the next month to pray. Find out what's going on in her or his life and hold that one up before the Lord. If nothing special happens in the friendship, fine; you at least will have been a blessing. But maybe this prayer-partnership will grow. Maybe it will last for the year, or maybe it will become a life-long friendship. By the time you leave SAU, you should have at least one professor who is an eternal friend.
Even more important than physical proximity is the relational accessibility we all want to cultivate. We teach at Spring Arbor University because we not only love our disciplines, we also really love our students. We are people people who feel called by God to invest in the lives of others. We know the most important part of the Great Commission is "make disciples" so we want to talk with you, pray with you, and share life with you.
In high school the gap between student and teacher was huge, and nobody wanted to be seen as a brown-noser. But it's different in college. We professors can handle the various roles we may play in your lives. We are mature enough to be able to pray with you outside class, and ten minutes later, challenge you in class if you turn in shoddy work.
Most professors don't want to force their friendship on students, and no professor is lonely with time on her or his hands, so we don't often take the initiative. But when a student comes to us and wants to be mentored, or discipled or simply befriended, we are eager to respond.
So here's a challenge for this year. Find one professor you really like or feel drawn to. Ask her or him if you can meet together for 20 minutes a week over the next month to pray. Find out what's going on in her or his life and hold that one up before the Lord. If nothing special happens in the friendship, fine; you at least will have been a blessing. But maybe this prayer-partnership will grow. Maybe it will last for the year, or maybe it will become a life-long friendship. By the time you leave SAU, you should have at least one professor who is an eternal friend.
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