John Walkup
Emeritus Professor, Texas Tech University
Faculty Commons National Representative
I was 30 years old when I started my academic career, but I still needed a lot of mentoring.
Graduate school doesn’t entirely prepare you for functioning successfully in the academy. All sorts of experiences were new, including (but not limited to) writing and marketing research proposals, departmental politics with all of its ins and outs, the whole promotion and tenure system, putting together a research laboratory, reviewing papers for journals and proposals for federal agencies. I wanted to be mentored by some mature Christian colleagues who shared my desire to see Christ glorified in our careers.
God was gracious in providing Christian colleagues both as mentors and as research collaborators. I recall prayer times with two or three colleagues who both encouraged me and prayed with me for challenges I was facing.
Even When I Disagreed
In addition, two of my closest research collaborators were mature believers. One of them went to bat for me privately when our department chairman seriously misinterpreted my motivation for a stand I had taken on a departmental policy. He later became our chairman, and I was blessed in new ways having him as “my boss,” even when I disagreed, from time to time, with a particular decision.
Mentoring Christian students also provides numerous challenges and joys. I was blessed to be able to mentor a number of my Christian undergraduate and graduate students over the years.
I distinctly recall how my first doctoral student got very discouraged when he was asked to retake the oral portion of his qualifying examination and told me he felt like quitting the program. Being able to pray for him and share with him that I had retaken my own qualifying orals bonded the two of us in a special way.
He subsequently passed his oral and has now had a distinguished career of his own in the academy. He has personally mentored a significant number of students who are walking with the Lord. When we can spiritually mentor our students I think we come to realize in a very special way the joy of being called by God to the academy.
One of the joys of my current role as a FC national representative is being able to encourage and pray with young faculty who are frequently experiencing pressures that are similar to what I experienced. I also try to connect them with older Christian colleagues who can mentor them through the tenure process and other career challenges. Whether this mentoring takes place through Christian faculty fellowships or elsewhere, it’s very encouraging to both the mentor and the mentoree.
Demonstrating Love
While many of the research intensive campuses seem to want each professor to master every aspect of their job description, as Christians we know that spiritual gifts (as well as natural talents) are not distributed identically. Teaming with a few colleagues whose strengths complemented my own was always helpful, and a special joy when they were fellow believers.
Mentoring Christian colleagues and students is one more way that the Body of Christ can demonstrate to the world the love that God has given us for Him and for each other (John 13:35). Let’s all be sensitive to the need to mentor!
© 2006 John Walkup