Students, friends, alumni and supporters,

Today marks the end of the summer orientation sessions here at Clemson University.  For the last eight years I have spent several weeks of my summer meeting hundreds of students and parents filled with excitement (and trepidation) about what was before them.  In some cases, I met students during orientation who have become life-long friends and faithful supporters of our ongoing ministry here.  In other cases, I met students that I never saw again.  Such is life as a campus minister!

Over the last eight years our ability as campus ministers to make connections with students has grown increasingly more difficult.  Years ago it was much easier to connect with students when they were required to identify their religious preference as part of their application process.  Today, we as campus ministers - even at a school as Christian-friendly as Clemson - feel a little like that crazy uncle that you have to invite to the family reunion but hope that he won't be too much of a disruption!

Anyhow, if you know of someone who is starting classes this fall at CU, Tri-County Technical College, Southern Wesleyan University, Anderson University or even North Greenville University, please email me over the next few weeks so that we can try to reach out to them.  We've had students from each of these schools active in our ministry in recent years.

I first published the following devotional four summers ago.  It contains the same advice that I would want to share today with those who are getting ready to begin college in a few weeks.  CLG

Orientation

 

Today marks the beginning of the second week of orientation at Clemson University. Like most larger schools, incoming students arrive in waves throughout the summer to orient themselves (or, more accurately, to BE oriented) to Clemson’s campus. Many of these students have been coming to Clemson for years to football games. No doubt that some of them are surprised to discover how much more there is to Clemson University than what happens in Death Valley several Saturday afternoons a year.

 

I can’t help but wonder what is going through the minds of these students. I am sure there is much excitement…but also fear and anxiety. The pastor in me can’t help but worry and pray for them. Coming to Clemson will be one of the most significant and difficult steps on their journey to adulthood. Sociologists tell us that the friends that these freshmen make and the organizations that they join during their first few months will influence greatly the people that they will become in the years ahead.

 

I remember vaguely my orientation twenty years ago at Wofford College, which took place several days before fall classes began. We were made familiar with the different buildings on campus. We were given a tour of the library. We received our student IDs. We registered for classes. Typical aspects of any orientation. 

 

However, my most significant memories from those days of orientation did not take place as part of the official itinerary planned by the administration. No, what I remember most were the friendships that I formed that helped shape and mold me over the next four years. When I look back, I thank God for surrounding me with such a wonderful, diverse group of friends who challenged, nurtured, and genuinely pushed me to become the best person that I could be – the person that God would have me be. 

 

I am not a member of Clemson University’s administration, but my guess is that through these summer orientations they are hoping to plant the first seeds, to put into place the first building blocks of what they would define as a “successful” Clemson alumna(e). Like most schools, I am sure that CU seeks to graduate persons who are productive, taxpaying citizens who will serve as the next generation of civic, economic, educational and business leaders in South Carolina and beyond. “Success” will be defined by strong leadership…and, of course, the ability to give back to Clemson in different ways, including through the gift of financial resources (unencumbered, preferably). The concept of “return on investment” applies to the world of higher education, too.   

 

As I look into the eyes of these students (many of whom were born the same year that my wife and I began dating!), I wish them “success” during and after their years in Clemson. But more importantly, I wish for them faithfulness. Faithfulness to God. Faithfulness to one another. Faithfulness to other members of this amazingly diverse human race of which we are all a part.

 

I first began to reflect on the difference between “successful” and “faithful” during my junior year in college. As part of a long-range planning team in retreat at Kanuga in Hendersonville, NC, I’ll never forget the debate between Wofford alumni, trustees, professors and students over the ultimate goal for the Wofford graduate. “How should we define a successful Wofford graduate?” someone questioned. Gathered in this small room were some of most respected business people from the region, including the likes of Roger Milliken and Jerry Richardson. Also gathered were some of the most respected UM clergy from the state, including Will Willimon, the nominee for bishop this year from the SC Conference. As you could guess, the business people, the educators, the clergy and the students all had a different idea of what would make a “successful” Wofford graduate.

 

It was not long after this formative experience that I decided to dedicate my life to the pursuit of “faithfulness” rather than “success.” First through ministry as a layperson and then in full-time ministry, I have sought to “proclaim Christ crucified.” Regrettably, my words and actions have not always been faithful. Nevertheless, I press on, with God’s help, even though I know that many continue to see my goals and perspective as ludicrous and shallow. Such is the life of those who follow the One whose faithfulness led to the cross.

 

What should be said to these incoming freshmen as they begin their process of orientation? If it was left to me, I would encourage them to take great care in the friends that they make. They’ll be tempted to surround themselves with people who are just like them. Instead, I would advise them to make friends with folks who will push and stretch them to grow in healthy ways. I would also encourage them to join groups or organizations that will help them to think beyond themselves, and to be leery of those groups that are focused simply on satisfying their own desires or urges.   Lastly, I would remind them of the great gift that they are preparing to receive – the gift of education. This gift, like all other gifts, finds its root in the Great Giver, a God who has loved them since before they were even born. 

 

To be oriented is to be given direction. Just as a compass - an orienteering tool - points us in the right direction, the cross of Christ is the place to which we look when we are lost. The vertical beam always points us toward heaven, reminding us that through Jesus we have been made right with God. The horizontal beam points us toward one another, reminding us that a life lived in communion with God is always a life lived in communion with one another.

 

For me, leaving home and going to college proved to be a time when I first realized how “spoiled” I was. Spoiled by my parents, yes. But also “spoiled” by a God that had blessed and continues to bless me beyond my understanding. 

 

May God help us to dedicate our lives to that which is “faithful,” rather than worrying about how the world defines “success.” And may we remember, when we’re not sure which way to go, to look toward the Cross for direction.

 

Seeking God’s direction,

lane 

 

Rev. C. Lane Glaze

Director, Clemson Wesley Foundation

Campus Minister, Clemson UMC

P.O. Box 1703, Clemson, SC 29633
www.clemsonwesley.com

(864) 654-5547 (o); (864) 207-9135 (m)