A Common Call
A university campus is a great place for research, for furthering our understanding of the world around us, and for engaging with others in debate and discourse. For believers, it can also be a ministry. We have always championed you to live out your faith and share the love of Christ wherever God has placed you. This month I’ve asked a few of the university professors and instructors in our own church how their faith influences their work and relationships on campus.
What does honoring Christ in your teaching, research, and service look like for you?
Dr. David Peebles, Professor, Poultry Science: I think students and co-workers are looking for good character matched with a Christ-like behavior in us throughout our teaching, research, or service activities. They may not at first agree with our faith, but they would first want to see these traits reflected in our lives before they would consider what we have to share with them about our faith and beliefs. We may fall short of these at times, but I think if they notice a general difference in our lives and our desire to be more Christ-like they will be drawn to find out more.
Dr. Filip To, Professor, Ag & Bio Engineering: Jesus shows us so much patience every day in our lives. He helps us grow confidence in what we do by giving us chances to do things right, and he puts no limit in budgeting his patience. In teaching it is the same in my opinion. I don’t have to budget my patience. I always make myself available for people to come share ideas and problems with me, and I advise them to do this or that and hopefully cause changes in them.
In research, I am not afraid of what to do because I know He is my source of inspiration. You can see my research topics span wide; I have tackled fire safety, wildlife and fisheries, biomedical engineering, concussions, and cotton, just to name a few. I am free to create. In serving others in my workplace, I can work with them to achieve something, and Jesus helps me be adaptable because I am able to have a different view and look at the situation with a Christian lens.
Since this is the South, is MSU a friendlier environment for ministering or sharing your faith with other faculty members and students? What challenges do you face in living out your faith on campus?
David: MSU is definitely a more open environment for the expression of Christian values and ministry than most other universities. On the other hand, the challenges we face for sharing our faith continue to increase. Nevertheless, many opportunities exist legally, that we often don’t realize, for us to openly share our faith in the classroom and in other forums on campus.
Filip: Yes, many of the MSU faculty, staff, and students are “Christians” and are very toleratent of Christian thoughts. The challenge is time. It is best to do things and show things by being an example and all of this takes time.
Where have you seen God moving in your department, with your students, or on campus in general?
David: I have noticed that my international graduate students are actually open to finding out more about my church and Christianity. A few have volunteered to attend church with me. One loves music and has mentioned that music in church is much more uplifting and joyful than he has experienced in his religion. On several occasions over the years, I have had students in my Genetics course inquire about my Christian stance. Recently, I had a student discuss with me after class how science and faith might be able to co-exist. The discussion was sparked by a link to my Meet The Prof (meettheprof.com) page posted on the instructor biography that I showed on the first day of class.
Meet The Prof is a place to connect with a community of professors. We share a common love for students, for knowledge and for a free exchange of ideas. We are also followers of Christ and believe He is the author of life. We’re honest about our own journeys, and we would love to hear about yours. We are associated with Faculty Commons, the faculty ministry of Cru. We are members of a variety of churches—Catholic, Orthodox, and Protestant—but we’re at home when it comes to talking about Christ. We believe He is worth knowing.
Are you familiar with the Faculty Commons ministry or have you heard of their conference “A Common Call” before?
David: I am familiar with them. I have found them to be very helpful and encouraging. As a past-president of the MSU Faculty and Staff Forum (CFF), Faculty Commons and A Common Call have been a vast reservoir of assistance and encouragement. I have particularly benefited from and enjoyed the regional and national Faculty Commons conferences. Their website and publications are also great sources of information and encouragement for faculty and staff on college campuses.
Ministering to your coworkers and connecting with other believers in the workplace can be difficult for anyone, but it can seem especially daunting on a sprawling college campus. Professors, instructors, and even graduate students might feel like they’re the only believer in their department and could use a community of other believers to encourage them as they live out their faith on campus. A Common Call, which is a ministry of Faculty Commons, works to help create that network of Christians on college campuses.
At A Common Call, you can hear from others who have honored Christ in their teaching, research, and service and explore with other Christian professors your common call to live out your faith at MSU. This is a chance to network with colleagues from other universities and share ideas for effective ministry.
If you are a professor, instructor, graduate student, or even retired faculty, you are invited to attend A Common Call. The event is $50, but there is an early-bird discount for those who register before February 14. The conference will start on Friday, February 28 at 7:00 pm in the Warehouse and conclude on Saturday, February 29 at 4:00 pm. Visit the Faculty Commons website at acommoncall.org to register for the event. You’ll be refreshed to be with colleagues who have “a common call!”