Letter From the Chair: We Are Called to Be Thermostats (SLW & CALL)

Letter From the Chair: We Are Called to Be Thermostats

When I went to visit my mother-in-law in the small community surrounding Lake Tenkiller, Oklahoma, I wasn't expecting much from Keys Baptist Church (www.keyschurch.org), where she attends Sunday service. Having a Pentecostal background, I honestly thought the service might be a bit boring. As I listened to Pastor Andy Bowman, though, I realized that his message was far from boring; besides the fine alliteration and parallelism of the points in his sermon, something an English teacher always notices, the message resonated with this English teacher who is also a Christian. I began thinking about how Pastor Andy's message addressed one of the most prevalent issues in our CETC community: How can we distinguish ourselves as Christian teachers in secular institutions? How does one share the Gospel with students without crossing that invisible line present at most institutions? This was even the topic for the September e-list discussion, which came out after I wrote this letter.

Pastor Andy's sermon, "You Are to Be an Influence," was based on Matthew 28:19-20: "Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age." Most of us recognize this passage, which has been labeled "The Great Commission," the call for Christians to spread the Gospel. Looking at it from a slightly different perspective, Pastor Andy said that in order to spread the Gospel Christians must be an influence.

Influence means "capable of making an impact or altering a situation." Billy Graham is a person of influence. As the "Pastor to the President" for 40 years and evangelist to millions of people around the globe, Billy Graham has altered situations. Pastor Andy talked of Lake Shore Baptist Church in Lake Shore, Mississippi, a community blown away during Hurricane Katrina, that has committed to rebuild every house in town. The church is altering the situation and making an impact.

As teachers we have influence. We help students accomplish goals so that many of them can alter their own situations. We impact students' lives. But our influence as teachers is only for a short time; as Christians, we can have an eternal influence. Pastor Andy discussed four actions to be an influence, four habits to distinguish oneself as a Christian. I want to take this opportunity to share these practices with you.

1. Imitate. Being a Christian means being Christ-like. The Bible says that when we become Christians, we have the mind of Christ (1 Cor 2:16). Imitate Jesus Christ in work ethic, attitude, and conduct.

2. Irritate. When you stir something, you irritate it. In Acts 16, Paul and Silas were accused of "turning the world upside down." Irritate the world with the Gospel.

3. Illuminate. As regards the old adage, "curse the darkness or light a candle," I fear too many Christians today are simply cursing the darkness, making statements and claims about the poor state of humankind. Some believers have stopped shining the light of the Gospel and left the world in the shape it's in. Illuminate your environment.

4. Inundate. Christians are not commissioned only to go, but to go and teach all nations. Many of the same people sit in church services hearing the Gospel over and over and over again, while others have not had one chance to hear the Gospel. Inundate all who surround you with the Gospel.

In closing, Pastor Andy shared the apt analogy of the thermometer versus the thermostat. A thermometer displays the temperature, but a thermostat sets the temperature. There's no question what our role is to be as Christians: altering situations and making a difference by setting the temperature of our world through imitating, irritating, illuminating, and inundating the world for Christ.

SLW & CALL October 2007 Volume 11 Number 3: Table of Contents