John Walkup
Emeritus Professor, Texas Tech University
Faculty Commons National Representative
During my years in graduate school I had an advisor who I thought might be a Christian. He treated his students and our laboratory’s staff politely, never used profanity around us and was generally kind to everyone—in other words, he was a “nice guy.”
Thinking that he might be a believer, I shared with him a copy of a magazine article entitled “A Physicist Believes” by Dr. John McIntyre of Texas A&M.
I noted that I had found it very meaningful, and I asked him if he would like to read it and discuss his reactions with me. When I subsequently asked if he had read the article, his first words were “Oh, the philosophy thing!”
He then proceeded to tell me that he found his career totally fulfilling and could not understand why it was so important to God that he put his trust in Jesus Christ. I was able to share the gospel message and some Scriptures with him, though he did not show any interest in becoming a Christian.
When I became a professor, I realized that if I didn’t identify myself as a believer to my students and colleagues, others might well think I was, at best, just another “nice guy.” If that happened, I would effectively be robbing God of the glory He was due for the changes He had made in my life since I trusted Christ.
Frankly, when I take a hard look at myself, I don’t see a nice guy. What I do see is someone who, by God’s grace, has been forgiven and is in the process of being slowly transformed into the image of Christ. It’s vital, as far as I’m concerned, that others see that the source of any good things going on in my life is Him, and that I don’t have it all together.
I began including a comment about my Christian faith when I explained my background on the first day of class. I made sure there was something in my office that would identify me as a Christian.
When I decided to retire early in order to become a CLM faculty representative, the honor society in our department asked me to share with them why I was retiring. I had the opportunity to share my faith, and to explain why I felt God was leading my wife Pat and me into a ministry to professors.
Looking back over my career, I am thankful that the Lord allowed me to have that experience in graduate school. I hope that you have prayerfully charted a course so that the Lord will be the one who gets the credit for your godly character and good deeds. As J.S. Bach used to write on his music, “Soli Deo Gloria”!
© 2006 John Walkup