As a new professor I was committed to living out my life as a follower of Jesus, but I knew that doing so in community was key. I knew several Christian professors, but somehow my efforts to summon a sizable group gathering was elusive.
I felt alone.
Then one morning it hit me – I needed to find just two or three guys, invite them to breakfast, and pitch the idea of meeting at least monthly to share our journey together as Christian professors.
Over coffee and omelets in the dining commons, I expressed my desire to be salt and light on the campus, and needed the community of other guys, particularly, to help me. I asked about meeting at least monthly, working through a helpful Christian book together, and praying for one another.
“Why just monthly, can’t we meet every week?” was their reply. I was elated; weekly was even better!
So, for a year, on nearly every Tuesday at 9:05am, the three of us have met to discuss a Christian book, our lives, and offer encouragement and support to each other. Through our times together, we learned that one guy’s wife is not a Jesus-follower and how her salvation is a great concern to him. We learned of each other’s struggles to live out our faith consistently and our challenge to be bold about our faith with our students and other faculty.
This year the opportunity arose for us to partner with the Cru student ministry to do an outreach on campus, What I Can’t Say in the Classroom. The three of us shared with about 75 students about how and why we put our trust in Jesus to be our Savior. (Yes, this really stretched our faith.)
At a recent breakfast meeting, one of the guys shared how much our meetings have strengthened his faith and made him more aware of his need to live out his faith. Another shared how much the community has meant to him, knowing he can reach out to us with a text message with a prayer need and know that we are supporting him.
Our breakfast meetings have both challenged me and encouraged me to pursue other professors on campus who need such a community.
Journeying with these two Christian professors as a disciple has dared me to more boldly live out my Jesus-life. As a pilgrim, our time together has challenged me to live out my true purpose for being on our campus, to be a light on a dark campus.
