Torch, Spring 1993

on line With ··"-D1*- President Cedarville College The Spirit Of The Place Y ou walk into a new church some Sunday, and immediately you sense a special spirit about the place. The song service is characterized by vitality. When the pastor walks to the pulpit for the morning sermon, the atmosphere is electric. You can feel the anticipation of the congregation as they are about to hear from the God of Heaven through His servant as he proclaims God 's Word. I went to Kettering Hospital last summer to be with my wife who was having a heart catheterization. As soon as I walked through the entrance, I sensed the spirit of the place. An elderly gentleman with a big smile on his face leaned over the rail of the landing above me. "Do you need any help?" he asked. He escorted me not only to the elevator, but all the way to the fourth floor to make sure I arrived at the proper waiting room. On the elevator I asked him, "How old are you?" "Past eighty," he replied. He went on to 2 Torch explain that he had sold his grocery store in Dayton and, after his wife 's death, volunteered to work in the hospital. Obviously, he loved every minute of it because he loved to help people. Consider our own Cedarville campus. It isn't perfect, since all of us who live and work here are imperfect. However, there is a special spirit about the place. Visitors comment on it as they step from their cars. The students greet them warmly and always seem to be smiling. Even the dining hall (typically a place where it's open season on institutional food!) is alive with excitement. In chapel, especially, you know God is doing something marvelous on our campus as our college family meets each day for worship and edification. The spirit of the church. The spirit in that hospital. The spirit on our campus. How do you explain it? Joy- the same kind of joy that Paul told us to have all the time in Philippians 4:4. And it comes through the people. Someone said, "The spirit of the place trickles down from the top." I would add: "and right through the organization." A spirit of joy comes through a positive, focused people who are excited about what they are all about. Is that the spirit of your church? Your home? Your business? Your school? We live in dark days. But Jesus Christ is our focus. He is our joy. "Joy to the World, the Lord Has Come!" I frequently share with our students Chuck Swindoll's famous quote: "Life is 10% what happens to you and 90% how you respond to what happens." Whatever the circumstances, we can have the joy of our Lord and an influence on the spirit of the place.