Joseph McRae Mellichamp, Ph.D.
Emeritus Professor of Management Science
The University of Alabama
As a young professor in the early 1970s, I was indelibly impressed that God had called me to be His representative at my university. I concluded that if I wasn’t faithful to that calling, God could raise up someone else in my place who would be faithful.
Os Guinness, in his book The Call: Finding and Fulfilling the Central Purpose of Your Life describes calling like this: “The truth is not that God is finding us a place for our gifts but that God has created us and our gifts for a place of His choosing—and we will only be ourselves when we are there.”
How Does One Stay Focused?
Although that initial calling occurred for me over 35 years ago, I am still in the process of responding to it. It really defines who and what I am. The question I keep asking myself and which you may also be wondering about is: “How does one keep the vision fresh; how does one stay focused on what God has called him or her to do and be?” For me probably the number one thing that has kept me focused on representing Jesus in the academy has been Christian faculty conferences.
Beginning with our first Christian Faculty Conference at Arrowhead Springs, California, in 1970, Peggy and I have attended every national faculty conference sponsored by Campus Crusade or Faculty Commons since. The challenges by outstanding speakers and the fellowship with fellow professors who experience all of the same issues and pressures that I face have enabled me to remain true to God’s calling on my life.
The encouragement and vision I have gained by being with other believing professors at those meetings has helped sustain us through 25 years as a professor and another 14 years on full-time staff with Faculty Commons. Had we not made a commitment to attend these conferences, I suspect I might have fallen by the wayside years ago.
The Isolation And Independence
What about you? Are you struggling with understanding God’s calling to you in the academy? Are the pressures of staying on top of technology and the competitive nature of the job taking a toll on your sense of purpose? Does the isolation and independence of the professor’s life cause you to yearn for the fellowship of like-minded academics? Do you have difficulty picturing the place for which God created you and gifted you? Is your vision for your career and your life a bit blurred?
Consider taking a bold step now to invest one weekend of your life as a Christian professor, to rekindle your vision. Join me at the National Faculty Leadership Conference in Arlington, Virginia, June 27-29, 2008. See www.nflc.us for details.
The university is a demanding place to work and a difficult place to minister. Colleagues, students, friends and family members sometimes disappoint; ministry is difficult and it usually comes at inconvenient moments; some in academe are only interested in their own accomplishments and don’t pass along accolades to others. Many times over the years, I have considered throwing in the towel and riding off into the sunset.
Not By Choice
But whenever I start thinking this way, I realize that I am not in this by choice. God has called me to the university. I serve at His pleasure, not my own. Jesus summed up His calling well when He said, “I have come down from heaven to do the will of God who sent Me, not to do what I want (John 6:38).” How can we do less?
I hope to see you in Arlington. I’d love to sit down and have a cup of coffee with you and talk over the challenges you face in your calling. I’d love to be able to encourage you. And it will encourage me for you to join the rest of us there.
[For additional information on your calling in the university see the chapter on “Availability” in Go Fast, Turn Left: Simple Instructions for Following Jesus.]
© 2008 Joseph McRae Mellichamp Used by permission of Faculty Commons