I Finally Did It...

I have finally graduated from seminary, which also means that, as far as we are planning, this is my last graduation. But who knows what will happen in the future?

The ceremony wasn't that terribly long, the hand-shaking wasn't that terribly long, and my speech on behalf of the graduating class (all 3 of us!) wasn't that terribly long either, nor was it even that terrible.

It was, I think, a good evening--although if I hadn't received much of Dr. VanDam's speech as lecture notes this past school year, I would have no idea what he talked about last night. I was tired and kind of nervous.

Now I have a B.A., an M.A., and an M.Div.

Of all my university graduations, I think this one meant the most. First of all, there were only 3 of us graduating, and 17 students in all at the College, so we knew each fairly well. And this one wasn't just a degree for the sake of studying, the last four years actually had a goal, a purpose in mind--the ministry. And because it is a small school, I got to know the professors quite well too. It was nice that Dr. Visscher, the principal, got to confer the degree on me, since I spent many hours with him over the years seeking his advice and counsel. When I didn't think that I could handle the College, or when Sherri and I were doubtful about entering into the ministry, he listened to our concerns, our fears, and gave good advice and encouragement.

I must admit, though, that I smirked on the stage when he said "You are now Master of Divinity." The title is funny, as if I am somehow able to control the Divine. It sounds too much like He-man, Master of the Universe. It needs some dramatic music playing when it is said.

The speech I gave was well-received too. Many people coming through the reception line commented on it. Apprently it was funnier than I thought it would be, as I have a rather dry sense of humour, I think.

Anyways, for your reading pleasure, here is the text of my address on behalf of the students. I thought of most of it while I was driving tractor on the farm, so I'm pleasantly surprised that it makes sense.

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I would like to begin with an apology. Looking back on the student addresses from previous College evenings, I remember them being quite humorous. I am sorry to say that this one will not follow that tradition. I am not a funny person. Nor am I a foreign student, so I cannot speak about adapting to a new culture as I began my studies at the College. I am, however, a person who likes to place things in perspective—I am a ‘big-picture’ person. So let me present to you a picture of the College, an analogy of the College as a vehicle, a theological car, the College-mobile. Something like the Batmobile, but not nearly as cool. More like a Volvo, back when they were square boxes.

In this vehicle, the professors play the role of the navigators—as students they are our academic, intellectual GPS device. They are our guides through all of those courses which sound like characters from the Asterix and Obelix comic books—dogmatics, canonics, poimenics, catechetics, hermeneutics, symbolics. We need professors to lead us into these subjects—those who have gone over this before us, and can guide us through the vast amounts of information that is out there. We need a guide or we would soon lose our way. This is part of the role that the professors play for us students—they guide our studies so that when we leave the College we will be prepared for the work ahead of us.

But even beyond the teaching, there was encouragement and advice, guiding us students in more personal ways as well. Who can forget Prof. VanDam’s exam advice: “Study hard, sleep tight, everything will work out right”? Or Dr. deVisser’s concern for us not just as students, but also as people with families, spouses, children? For myself, there was a time during my second year that I was an almost constant fixture in Prof. Visscher’s office, seeking advice. The talks which I had with Prof. Visscher were invaluable for me, giving a sense of perspective about the whole process and what we were going through as students. And Dr. Gootjes, who gave us the most memory work, was always willing to help out those poor students like myself who are not gifted with excellent memories. I don’t think Rolf or Cornelis ever had a problem in this regard, not to make light of the work that they put into these things, but Dr. Gootjes was always willing to work around my deficient memory, no matter frustrating it may have been for him. And none of us will forget too easily all the pastoral advice which Rev. DeGelder slipped into his lectures on Church Polity.

If the Theological College is like a car, and the professors are the GPS device guiding us on our four-year journey, then the other students we study with are like the interior of the car, they are what makes the trip comfortable. I don’t have much experience with fancy cars—being on a student’s budget—but I hear they can be quite comfortable. In our experience at the College, the students we studied with made these last four years more like a Cadillac and less like a Chevelle.

Studying at the College is no simple thing. It sounds easy, and who wouldn’t want to live the life of a student? Starting classes at 9 and ending at 12:30 (or rather, starting classes at 8:50 and ending at 12:20 so that coffee time is at precisely 10:30), home by 1:00. What a life. But the problem is that once we are home, the real work begins. If as students we had not worked together over the years, the last four years would have been considerably more difficult. But as ‘many hands make light work,’ it was the co-operation among students that eased the workload.

Early on in the college, I discovered that I had the uncanny knack of being able to take down Dr. Gootjes’ lectures word-for-word. This skill meant that I had the responsibility of sharing my notes with other, less fortunate students. Eventually this was made easier by the internet group started a few years ago, onto which go our lecture notes, reading notes, timelines, charts and the like—anything that we have done that we think that other students will benefit from.

More than just making the workload lighter, our fellow students were also those with whom we could talk about assignments, frustrations, concerns—for they were all going through the same things. We in the upper years tried to impart our wisdom to those in the lower years, but more often than not we all needed each other, regardless of what year we were in. The College seems to be the great leveller.

Now I move on to an area which may be tricky, for I don’t think Liz, Greta, Sherri or the other student’s wives would want to be compared to something as unattractive as the tires and suspension system. But I think the comparison, although perhaps un-aesthetic, works, for just as when you have good tires and a good suspension system on your car you don’t feel many of the bumps and holes on the road, so too our wives helped us along our four-year trip at the College by supporting us on the way.

Now, you might not think that being the wife of a student at the Theological College is that hard. But in my experience, it is the wives of students who have to bear the burden of the student’s life, but without any of the perks. They hear the frustrations, they see the stress, they suffer through the mental absences which characterize the life of a student. They do not even get the benefit of the end goal of these studies—I’m the one receiving this degree, not my wife. Not only did our wives have to deal with all the side-effects of the College, they were also the ones who worked hard to support us in this endeavour. Without this support, without these women in our lives, the College would have been a totally different experience.

Beyond the financial and emotional support that our wives provide, it was a great blessing to have a spouse during my years at the College, for she put my studies into their proper perspective. When bogged down with memory work, essays, readings, and translations, it was refreshing to have time to spend away from the books, away from the computer, time spent with my wife and lately with my son. These times were for me, and I am sure for Cornelis and Rolf as well, a necessary time of rest so that when I did go back to my books, when I did get back to studying my mind was fresh and I was ready to get back into it. Our wives kept us grounded in the world outside the College, reminding us that there was a life outside of our books, and this is a very practical support for students.

Just as a car needs oil to keep the engine for ceasing up, so too does the College-mobile. At the College, the job of making sure that everything keeps moving goes to Margaret and Catharine. Margaret keeps the library in order, among other tasks, and makes sure that no student or professor lacks books to read. Catharine keeps all of the affairs of the College running decently and in good order, and makes sure that we all know what to do, where to go, and especially for us students, what not to do and where not to go. Without these two, I’m not sure any of us academics would have any idea of how to actually run the place.

I could go on for some time, but I will stop here. As you can see, from our perspective as graduating students, there is a rather large debt of gratitude that we have on our shoulders this evening, since we do not live or work by ourselves.

It is due to the grace of our brothers and sisters in Christ, and above all to the grace of our Heavenly Father that we stand here at all. It is fitting at times such as these to remember this debt of gratitude, to remember the grace that supports us all, and by a few short words to acknowledge it in humility.

As our time at the College draws to a close (I won’t consider it done until I walk out of this auditorium), we will keep with the analogy of the car, and finish this leg of our journey by paraphrasing the last words of the GPS device, good old Tante Truus: “We have reached our destination.”

Thank you.

(P.S. Apparently "Tante Truus" is what they call GPS devices in Holland. I now also have one myself, and it's very handy, a TomTom ONE 130.)