Ediforiol/Opinion
Father and Friend
By Dr. Bill Cain, Chaplain
I always wanted a large family.
Never did I dream that this family
would swell to over 400 people
on the Montreat campus of the
School of Arts and Sciences as
well as those “brothers and sis
ters” in School of Professional and
Adult Studies (SPAS).
As the chaplain, I see this role
that God has given to me as being
a father and a friend to the Mon
treat family. I have the privilege
of walking beside students, staff,
and faculty and encouraging them
in their life with the Lord.
Last year I received a note from
a parent whose child is a student
here. The family had been devas
tated by the sudden death of a good
friend, and I had sought to support
this student in the midst of grief
The mother’s note simply said,
“Thanks for being there, when I
could not.” That is not a “job”...
that is my privilege and call from God
I have had people ask me, “Bill,
what in the world does a chaplain
do?” In an age that loves to mea
sure worth by works, I could point
to the activities of leading worship,
preaching, teaching, recruiting and
supporting small group leaders,
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WHETSTONE
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Page Z Sept. 27 2002
The Whetstone
arranging for special speakers,
developing weekend retreats like
S.A.L.T., planning and participat
ing in a spring break missions
trip, co-leading a marriage semi
nar with my wife, and assisting in
a major community outreach min
istry called Hands and Feet as evi
dence of my “worth.” But my call
as a chaplain is tied to encourag
ing and equipping students to be
disciples of Jesus Christ. In that
call I am a friend to those who
need someone to stand with them
and I am a father to those who
need the unconditional and extrav
agant love of God.
I close with a picture that sticks
in my mind. I was with 16
Montreat “family members” in
the Bahamas...on a mission trip!
Only we weren’t staying on the
fancy beaches of Nassau, we were
in a small cottage that was home
to some special children. Many of
these children had lost parents to
AIDS and many of them were HIV
positive. But I saw our Montreat
students playing games with them,
holding hands with them, listening
to them, and I uttered a prayer to
our Father: “Thank You for allow
ing me to be a part of a family of
faith called Montreat College.”
And thank you for your support
and prayers. If you ever need a
friend or a father give me a call
and I’ll walk with you in the name
of Jesus Christ.
Distributed by Colleg)*^ Presswire Feature* Syndics
From The Editor
By Tim Tyson
The summer is long gone, and
school has been in full swing for a
little over a month. Homecoming
Living ‘Water
By Johanna Wright
God is With Us
“I am God, the God of your father,” he said. “Do not be afrqid to
go down to Egypt, for I will make you into a great nation there. I will
go down to Egypt with you, and I will surely bring you back again.”
Genesis 46:3-4a.
In this passage God is speaking with Jacob to give him confirma
tion and a promise. Jacob is on his way to Egypt to see his son Joseph
and he has no idea what to expect. He was an old man and he left his
home and all that was safe and familiar to him to face new situations
in a strange new place. Can you imagine what Jacob must have been
thinking? He was probably terrified as he anticipated traveling, and
curious about how he would be received if he even made it to Egypt
alive!
God saw all of this in Jacob and said, “You know what Jacob? You
are doing the right thing. I am here with you and 1 am going to pro
tect you.” God confirmed what Jacob was doing and then said, “You
don’t have to do it alone.”
Sometimes we feel a lot like Jacob: alone and afraid. We are easily
overwhelmed with schoolwork, sports, activities, trying to make new
friends, family pressures, wondering what the future holds for us,
and the list goes on for each of us. We try to do all of this on our own,
and we forget that we don’t have to.
If you have truly trusted in Jesus as your Savior, you are a child of
Abraham. Thus, God has made this promise to you too: “You don’t
have to do it alone.” Christian, you have a Father in Heaven who
loves you dearly and walks beside you daily. He is waiting to speak
comfort directly into your life where you need it. Turn to Jesus and
seek what He would have for your life. There is great freedom and
power in knowing that our Lord does all things with us, and He wants
to prosper us.
Ruth Bell Graham wrote it well in one of her poems:
Lord, when my soul is weary
and my heart is tired and sore,
and 1 have that failing feeling
that I can’t take anymore;
then let me know the freshening
found in simple, childlike prayer,
when the kneeling soul knows surely
that a listening Lord is there.
is already upon us, and students
have dug in for the long haul. The
docket of activities is full, and the
Whetstone is here to serve.
The Whetstone is a student-
based paper for the students and
alumni of Montreat College. This
year we are distributing to every
student in the School of Profes
sional and Adult Studies and the
School of Arts and Sciences (for
merly the traditional campus).
The Whetstone has switched
over to a completely different
format. Whereas before it was
printed on stiff paper stock, now
we will be on newsprint every
issue. The paper is a little late this
year because of the change we had
in our development process to a
new format.
We are a bi-monthly publica
tion chock full of the most current
events relative to students in this
relative world. The name “Whet
stone” itself is derived from our
club’s verse Proverbs 27:17, “Iron
sharpens iron. So one man sharp
ens another” (NASB). A whet
stone, according to Webster’s
Revised Unabridged Dictionary, is
a “piece of stone, natural or artifi
cial, used for... sharpening edge tools.”
I strongly encourage students,
staff, and faculty to participate
in this process of “sharpening”
through feedback. This is an inter
active publication. Letters to the
Editor are always welcome as are
volunteer reporters and photogra
phers. With Letters to the Editor,
we ask that the author take credit
for their words and that no pro
fanity be used. For those inter
ested in submitting articles please
type the following link into your
web browser www.montreat.edu/
whetstone, and click on the “Whet
stone” button.
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