It was a dark and stormy night. My gumshoes beat out a regular rhythm on the wet pavement, taking me towards a safe haven to the tune of lunch and a Bible study. I pulled my trench coat tighter around me, shrugging back into its roomy shell. My mind whirled faster than a tumbleweed in a dust bowl. Suddenly, I knew I wasn’t alone. Footsteps behind me tapped out an echo of a lonely, tuneless song. I let my trench flap against the wind, just enough that the dame could see I was loaded. It was a cold wind, I almost missed her question:
“Are you carrying… a Bible?” I guess I’d sent the right message. Returning my Bible to the pocket of my coat, I let the dame know to whom I belonged. Turns out, she was in the same tribe.
If you’re like me, you enjoy a great mystery movie. My favorites are the ones where you can’t figure out who “dunnit,” …the butler is rarely the perpetrator!
The life of a Christian academic shouldn’t be the substance of a mystery story, but alas, this is often the case.
I’ve taken the liberty to have a little fun with my story, recasting a moment that actually happened in real life in hard-boiled noir because it speaks to how we often feel as Christians in the secular academy: stepping between shadows, concealing our identities.
In a place where other forms of identity are not only encouraged but even created and celebrated, Christians can feel pressured to leave their true selves at home.
Imagine my surprise when I bumped into a colleague at a Faculty Commons meeting, a colleague I had known well – or thought I did – up to that point. I’m thankful to have discovered my concealed Christian brother that day but I wish the clues had been easier to read earlier on. If I hadn’t realized he was a Christian (and not just a nice guy), then what were the odds my other colleagues had picked up on his faith?
I’ve discovered over the years, there are other Concealed Christians lurking in the halls or behind their office doors. Early Christians used the Icthus, or what we recognize as the “Jesus fish,” to identify themselves to each other in hostile environments.
What might we do today?
Perhaps tuning into a Christian radio station in your office or your tacking up your kids Sunday School artwork near your desk might work for you. I’ve taken to carrying my Bible to class and putting it on the desk up front, in plain view.
Students will often say, “Why did you bring a Bible?”
This opens the door for an interesting conversation. And, as I recounted above, an administrator found me when she noticed me carrying it under my arm.
Every campus presents a different environment and its own challenges. Pray over how you might respectfully reveal yourself to those around you. Breaking your concealment will help others do the same. Maybe one day we won’t need to be private eyes to find each other out.
Tony Swaim
Management
Kennesaw State University