Graduation

A young man ran from his college graduation ceremonies with his robe flying, diploma in hand. He yelled out to all who could hear, “Look out, world! Here I come! I have my B.A.!” A crack of thunder immediately rolled ominously out of the skies, and a deep voice shouted back, “Stick around, Sonny, and we’ll teach you the rest of the alphabet!”

Many graduations are taking place this month and next. Hopes, dreams, expectations, and best wishes will empty out of celebrative auditoriums. A number of CLC participants will also be completing their training plans in order to be commissioned to new levels of leadership in the church. It is a wonderful time of anticipation!

One college managed to snag the President of Harvard as its graduation speaker. He was royally introduced, of course, where he was proclaimed as the one who had “turned Harvard into a storehouse of knowledge.” Coming to the podium, he admitted that Harvard was, indeed, “a storehouse of knowledge.” Unfortunately, he went on, he himself could not take much credit for that, because “every year the freshmen bring so much knowledge with them, and the seniors take so little away!”

Knowledge becomes wisdom only when it is shared. Those who are forever drinking at the fountain of understanding, while never passing anything along to others, become bloated and self-indulgent. It can be like that in the church, too. One woman frequently told me that she came to worship each Sunday to get fed. Another man said that we shouldn’t have too much of what he called “preliminaries,” since, according to him, the point of gathering was to “get to the meat of the Word.” Good sentiments, to be sure, but only self-serving and gluttonous if the feast is not brought to others.

One of the things that CLC is about is what Bill Bright called “transferrable concepts.” He believed that any education, particularly in Scripture and the great teachings of the Christian faith, needed to be passed along. Learning without sharing is folly: Investigating without communicating is theft.

If you are in need of training to share with others the riches of our faith, check out what CLC can provide. We can help you become a more effective leader or pastor or evangelist or church planter or staff member. And, if you are wondering how you can participate in the great training hopes of the Church of Jesus Christ, donate today to CLC and let your gift help train others to share the gospel of the greatest Teacher of all.

Special thanks to Dr. Wayne Brouwer for writing the above article. He is CLC’s theological editor, professor at Hope College, and adjunct professor at Western Theological Seminary.