How has your ministry to your students expanded over the years? The other piece of it is that I have an open-door policy. If I'm here, then you don't have to have an appointment. Because there are so many things where if you have to make an appointment, the opportunity is gone. I've had students that come in, and for one reason or another, their heart is just breaking. Right now, they probably need their dad, but they know I'm here. And it's such a privilege, because so many of them just open their hearts. I get a few Kleenexes, hand them to the student, and then say, “Okay, tell me about it.” And to be able to be here for them is really special. Those are holy moments, when students come in with something like that in their hearts, to be able to encourage them. What impact does teaching fundamental biblical truths each semester have on you? One of the differences between being a pastor and being a professor is that as a pastor, you can't get away with preaching the same thing year after year. Here, we're expected to do that. But it's like the Lord takes it a little bit deeper each time. And if I remain attentive to what the Spirit is doing, then that becomes part of my growth. You know, there's a huge danger in just kind of coasting, saying, “Hey, I've got this.” And then you can fake it a little bit. You can kind of play this mind game. But you have to stay fresh and attentive to the Lord. And teaching has helped me to do that. That's why I grade all my student papers myself, because that's an important part of teaching them, but it also is an important part of the Holy Spirit teaching me. How do you prepare your students for their lives after graduation? The godly walk is something that I've reflected on all my life, and for a long time, I’ve taught a day on the godly walk in the Bible and the Gospel class. There are so many things that conspire to make us want to feel thoroughly at home in this life. And unfortunately, there are a lot of people who are not living lives of integrity. Christ is over here, but He doesn't really affect what they do when they're on the job or with their family or in the neighborhood or at the ballgame or at the restaurant. That's not what it's supposed to be. We are supposed to be pilgrims. Our whole orientation is that we are people of God, and He is the One who has our eternal inheritance. We are not citizens of the world. We're citizens of heaven. Our Christian faith ought to permeate every single molecule of our lives. What has been the most rewarding part of teaching at Cedarville? Being a teacher has a good side and a hard side to it. In 3 John, John talked about how “I have no greater joy than to hear that my children are walking in the truth.” And when I run into a former student of mine, it is such a joy to hear that they're continuing with the Lord. But the other side of it is that there's tremendous heartbreak. When I hear of a student that I'd invested in [who] has departed from the faith, that just grieves my heart so much. Those are the heartbreaks that come for a pastor, for a teacher, for a professor, for a parent. In my teaching here at Cedarville, I certainly have had far more of the students who give me great joy than those who have brought me sorrow. But I leave a part of my heart in every student that I've ever had. It's just a little thing, but it's like the proverb that says a good word does good like medicine. I try to write those notes of encouragement so that the student reads it and realizes, “Oh, hey, my profs are praying for me here,” and that can just encourage them to keep at it. 29
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