Graduation 2014 "Alma Mater"

This is more or less the transcript of my graduation speech for the 2014 graduating class at Johnson University Florida on May 2nd, 2014.

Alma Mater is a Latin term that translates to “caring mother.”  It has been used affectionately for a student’s first college or home college since the early 1700’s in England.  Alma Mater is appropriate because it is really only at college that young men and women are away from their parents for the first time and living on their own.  The world is a harsh place and our “caring mothers” extend, to a lesser degree, the warm, safe, wonderful, protected bosom that a mother provides for her children.  She allows them to grow up and figure out who they are in the world.

            This place has been our alma mater for the past four years.  An alma mater is made up of people, lessons, memories, and mentors.  We have sat with our classmates, friends, and peers in class, chapel, D-groups, church, and apartments.  Our mentors and teachers have taught us invaluable lessons inside and outside the classroom.  But what will make this place and time stick out to us 20 years from now are the memories that we made here.  Don Miller says it like this, “good stories have memorable scenes.”  I will remember my roommates and I singing happy birthday to Ryan Brackett Sophomore year at midnight wearing funny hats and interesting costumes.  I will remember the late night conversations in the living room solving the problems of the world with my roommates.  I will remember the constant rabbit chasing in our tech meetings in LB-1.  I remember watching everyone make cardboard forts.  I remember spending hours making that colored powder at Amos’ house so that we could make it last 5 minutes for everyone to throw at each other.  I remember every semester for the past four years “Da Jesus Book” a Hawaiian translation of the Bible has been pulled out and read at every study night event in the library.  I remember the frequent late nights at Denny’s finishing a group project at the end of most semesters. 

Make a list of those memories.  Keep them in a folder where you can go back and reflect on them when you’re lonely in ministry and tired of work.  The days are against you; they will be long and trying.  This speech should typically remind you to stay focused on Jesus the rest of your life.  We have all failed to do that even here at some point because of finals or projects that occupy our minds; imagine how much easier it will be to leave Jesus by the wayside when work, bills, and a family comes into play.

This place is not only designed to be a shelter for our last stage of development but a training ground.  What have we been trained in?

Professor Bundy has taught us how to deal with not only other people’s issues, but also our own.  Somehow every class turned into a counseling session where Bundy sorted out our issues in front of the whole class and at some point managed to shout “woe is me!”

Professor Sias not only tells the best stories but has taught us how to understand and connect with people – something she does intuitively.

“Don’t be an idiot, Dwight.”  “You could say that…” “You don’t know anything about Jesus.” Yes, Dr. Hardin humbled us and taught us his love of READING the Bible and studying it.  He trained us to be critical in our interpretation, challenged our preconceived notions, and explored and explained the full story and context.  He taught us whom Jesus really is and definitely made sure those who ventured to learn Greek were kept humble.

Dr. Hartley taught us how to understand the power of a good story, and that if we want to be taken seriously as Christians, that we need to learn how to communicate well.

Dr. Peters with his soul piercing blue eyes and question “how are you?” taught us how to defend our faith, understand why we believe what we believe.  He gave us previews of what we will encounter in the world we are entering into.  More than that, he taught us to give the benefit of the doubt and to always have compassion along with wisdom. 

Dr. Ritchie taught us that if we don’t want to repeat history and make the same mistakes as previous generations we have to understand what happened and why.  His vocabulary is only rivaled by his repertoire of pithy one-liners.

Doc Smith has forgotten more about the Old Testament than I will ever learn and he has written more books on it than I’ve ever read.

Each of these professors, and the ones I have not mentioned, has contributed to different facets of our education.  They have passed down knowledge, helped us understand how to solve problems (interpersonally and intrapersonally), and taught us how to study, learn, and teach this generation and the next about Jesus.

We are leaving this safe place of our alma mater and venturing out into the real world, where Bryce can’t help you make a payment plan since you don’t have enough money to pay for things right away.  Where you actually have to pay for A/C, Internet, TV, water, etc.  But more than that, we are going into a world where we are increasingly the minority.  Morality, absolute truth, traditional family structures, work ethic are all changing and we are on the shrinking side of the arena.

These people behind me are passing the baton on to us.  Now we have to stand and take our place in the world.  We have to teach others not just knowledge we have acquired but how to learn, think critically, interpret, etc.  We have to preach the Gospel to this generation.  We have to counsel those who are hurting and fighting with one another.  We have to lead people before the very throne of the Father while not getting in the way ourselves.  We have to be light to the world in a time when it is desperately needed.

In the midst of lesson plans, sermon writing, worship set planning, helping people work through issues, and just work in general we cannot forget that we ourselves are unfinished, incomplete.  We have to “continue to work out our faith with fear and trembling” (Phil. 2:12). 

Christianity, is in essence, about becoming more like Christ.  In story terms this is called “character development.”  Character development does not happen in a void any more than a piece of metal becomes a sword by sitting in the sun.

Graduation speeches are supposed to be encouraging and uplifting saying we can conquer the world!  But leaving here is more like Bilbo leaving the Shire than the 300 leaving Sparta.  Friends we are leaving “home” and venturing into a whole new arena.

Satan is always going to be against us, and honestly if he’s not, you’re probably not shaking him up enough and need to work harder.  Satan will attack us through pride, loneliness, lust, laziness, insignificant arguments and distractions like getting too caught up in where the flowers should be placed on stage, that the sound guy didn’t unmute the mic quick enough, or didn’t preview that video that he played on the screen of the chapman center during the middle of a class banquet…

            One of my favorite writers is Donald Miller and in my D-group here with Jordan Stancil, Robby Williams, Tony Webb, and DJ Rodeffer we had it drilled into our head that “every good story has conflict.”  There are around 12 words for the concept of trial, test, persecution, or conflict in the New Testament. They appear a combined number of 217 times in the New Testament alone.[1]  We read our Bibles right friends?  So why are we surprised when we face trials?  It shouldn’t come as a surprise!

“In this you rejoice, though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been grieved by various trials, so that the tested genuineness of your faith—more precious than gold that perishes though it is tested by fire—may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ.” (1 Pet. 1:6-7)

            “Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness.  And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.” (James 1:2-4)

            “If the world hates you, know that it has hated me before it hated you. (Jn 15:18)

            “If they persecuted me, they will also persecute you.” (Jn 15:20)

            “I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace.  In the world you will have tribulation.  But take heart; I have overcome the world.” (Jn 16:33)

            “I have said all these things to you to keep you from falling away.  They will put you out of the synagogues (out of society).  Indeed, the hour is coming when whoever kills you will think he is offering service to God (and humanity).  And they will do these things because they have not known the Father, nor me.  But I have said these things to you, that when their hour comes you may remember that I told them to you.” (Jn. 16:1-4)

And that isn’t everything!  I could go into Nehemiah how everyone was working on the wall with weapon in one hand tool in the other or Job who’s entire life and story focuses a period of suffering.  Don’t shy away from conflict, friends. 

I know that I am proud to be a Sun of Johnson University Florida.  Character development has been difficult enough here in this protective place; I can only imagine what it will be like when we leave…  But more trial presents more opportunity to become more like Christ.  That intimidates me.  We can’t conquer the world, but we belong to someone who already has and has adopted us as his own family, and in that we have confidence and hope.  We also have confidence in the instruction we have received by the men and women seated behind me.  We must leave our caring mother, we must push forward, and we must continue the kingdom work that has been set before us.

Ephesians 3:20-21 “Now to him who is able to do far more abundantly than all we ask or think, according to the power at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever. Amen.

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Video can be watched here: http://new.livestream.com/accounts/5196051/events/2966272/archives

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[1] πειρασμος (21), πειραζω (39), δοχιμαζω (22), δοχιμή (8), κατακρίνο (18), θλῖψις (45), θραύω (1), καταδιναστεύω (2), πνίγω (3),  διώκω (45),  ἐκδιώκω (1), Διωγμόσ (10).