Life Pacfic University Alumni Letter

Where will you be in the next five years? Ask yourself this question continually as you begin the first few classes of your college freshmen life. You are embarking on a incredible journey which will take you soaring through the Scriptures, embracing your professors and fellow classmates, and help mold you into a new person when all is said and done. In the end you will discover a new beginning, one which will keep you reaching back to those days in Bible school for inspiration and encouragement. Now there are several important things I learned I would like to share with you as you begin this adventure.

You are in Bible school to learn the Bible! I know this sounds like a no brainer but you would be surprised how much else you will learn along with the Scripture during your days at Life. One thing you will not be learning is the experience factor and intimate make up of what will make you a Pastor, worship leader, or educator depending on your program. This amazing life giving book you will carry to class with you every day can never be placed on the shelf as a text book. True it is used in just about every class, even Algebra if you end up with the same teacher I had. But your main focus should be the Bible this is why your degree path is Biblical Studies.

When I graduated my major was Biblical Studies with a secondary in Pastoral Ministry. Perhaps I felt the two being the other way around makes any difference in the real world. Shouldn’t the Bible already be the main area of everyone in ministry regardless of occupation? Artists, bakers, mail clerks, should all regard the Bible as important as Pastors, worship leaders, and missionaries.

Remember a five year degree at Life Pacific College or any college does not guarantee a job as soon as you graduate. This may come as a great life altering disappointment to many who think this piece of paper is a ticket to a paycheck. If you think about the whole scope of what a Pastor is and does in this world, shouldn’t it be harder to take on that responsibility?  The one standing in a ministry spotlight is to be a very example of Christ Jesus and the life should bear fruit of His work. Your degree does support the backbone of knowledge you will expand from but do not forget you need other bones, blood cells, tissue, and all that stuff to make a body. Your knowledge of the Bible will not come to an end when you are handed your degree, it is only the beginning. It should be the start of a lifetime relationship with your Creator and His Word.

Secular schools really do not care where you come from, Bible school is no exception. Start planning ahead now, beyond five years into what you hope to have after you complete your Biblical degree plan. If you want to attend State schools later make sure you research now what classes will be covered.

Carry the torch as Paul tells his protégée Timothy in his final letter appropriately named Second Timothy. Paul has given Timothy years of education and leadership plus much life experience to help carry him through the young Christian life. Timothy went on after Paul’s death to be the Bishop of Ephesus, or so we believe by tradition. We do know enough that the wisdom he gained would have kept him going as a messenger of God’s love and the ultimate sacrifice of Jesus on the cross for our sins.

Jesus Christ the same yesterday, today, and forever. His calling has not changed either. You are where you are for a reason and this must never be forgotten. Get a journal and write down why you are attending Bible College in the first place. Believe me you will be reading it again if not during your first finals week, definitely afterword! His call on your life does not change, but sometimes there is a period of waiting as we grow. You may or may not end up right in a pulpit after you leave school. Some people really are not meant to be there, but are to use the time at school to learn who their God is and go into the world as a light!

A few of my professors often commented to me on the importance of the work and call ahead. But a common phrase was, “if you can do anything else other than be a Pastor, do it!” I regret listening to this because there can be no greater gift then to follow a calling and no greater regret than losing track. This world is full of many, many, Bible school grads who are now discouraged since their degree is doing nothing but sitting on a wall in the spare bedroom. Maybe it comes in handy when talking to a friend about the Word, you know, “I have that degree so you should listen to what I have to say!” The degree means nothing if your heart is still living in the world.

There is nothing worse than a Pastor living outside of God’s will! A wonderful man of God said this from his pulpit shortly after leaving our town’s large Baptist church for another one in the city. He may take you through rough patches from time to time. It may be years before you even find yourself in a "ministry" role. Do not get discouraged; keep pushing forward into His will for you. We are all called into the ministry of God's Word and His love to people. This ministry displays itself through different ways from every individual.

It is my hope you take this degree path seriously. Do it for the fun of getting to know your God more. Do it for the sense of accomplishment. Do not think it means churches will be lining up out the door to get you hired. God appoints man to his positions, not man. You are a child of God and your knowledge of ministry and work only begins here. Experience is found in the real world.

 It is outside of the classroom you really find out who you are called to be in Him. When you are counseling friends who are going through marriage or relationship struggles, dealing with issues of forgiveness, having your own mud slinging battles with yourself, its when you learn what ministry is, it is about people. People are what matters to God. He wants you to know how to love them, how to show them His love. He wants you to lose judgmental attitudes and embrace kindness. Jesus went down on His own knees many times to show us humility comes before anything.

Lastly I want you to remember who called you to Bible school. If the answer is not God, leave now. Do not turn back. Only God could get you to give yourself to this call and work. Only God Himself could give you the divine task of learning His Word in order to teach it to others. He would not have you endure such a challenge if not to use you as a river into someone else’s life. I pray you make an impact on this world. I pray He uses the gift of the degree to empower you and strengthen you. I pray even more He encourages you through this letter from someone who is ministering for Him every day outside of a Church pulpit. What I do for God is to day by day live for Him. It is what I am supposed to be doing now while I learn more of whom I am and who He is in me.

Life Pacific Alumni
David B  Bowlby

August 6th 2013