This isn't the best picture in the world by a long shot, but it is my picture - a picture that I was close enough to take on my iPhone. It is, if you don't recognize it, St. Peter's in Rome. I was standing in the middle of a group of 30 Point University students and three faculty colleagues when I took the picture.
I could spend quite a while reviewing what we saw while in Rome, Florence, Pompeii, Delphi, Athens, and other places along the way, but I am more inclined to tell you about the Point students I was privileged to spend ten days with over Spring Break 2016.
The academic side of me wants to tell you that we had an amazing tour guide, who also arranged for us to have five different local tour guides - each of whom seemed to really know what they were talking about, whether it was Franco at the Vatican or Apollo at the Acropolis (who gets the prize for most appropriate tour guide name), Roberto in Pompeii, was the most colorful of the local guides. He did his first group tour of Pompeii in 1960, and at 81 years old, was still a fantastic tour guide. At my age, I like to see that sort of thing!
But what I appreciate so much about the visits to the various places is that each of the tour guides said something to me about how polite, attentive, and interesting our students were. Apollo, an archaeologist by training and "real job," and a tour guide for the Acropolis "on the side," said it best, "Not all college tour groups listen - but your group did, even though it was pretty hot on the top of the Acropolis and I was really giving lots of details." I was really proud to hear him say that!
Perhaps even more important than the "academic" reality of this trip, we were able to watch a group of 30 Point students model the kind of behavior we want to be the standard in the community of faith known as Point University. They were polite, respectful, and civil to one another and to those around them. If we asked them to be ready to load the bus at 8:30 a.m., they were there. They were even on time the morning we left for the airport in Athens to begin our trip home - and that was 3:30 a.m.! You might think that in a group of 30 college students, at least one person would push beyond acceptable limits - but that never happened. I would travel with this group anywhere, anytime.
We did visit some stunning places, not the least of which was the Acropolis. Reaching back as far as the fifth century BCE, the monuments on the Acropolis are reminders to those who visit of the birth of the ideas of freedom and democracy that are the foundation of western civilization. As impressive as the ruins of Pompeii are - in significant ways they reminded me of why the gospel is so important for humankind. The Oracles of Delphi were amazing and the local guide's explanation gave some clarity to that place that I've never had before. St. Peter's in Rome and the whole Vatican complex, pro or con when it comes to Roman Catholicism, has been the center of western Christianity for centuries. We spent time walking there. We also walked on stones that Julius Caesar walked and stood in the shadow of Mt. Vesuvius just like the unsuspecting people of Pompeii did centuries ago. We stepped out of the moment in which we live and viewed western civilization from an entirely different perspective.
In nearly every church we visited, there were the expected places to light candles and pray for others. We conservative followers of Jesus tend to be a little nervous about such things, but honestly I couldn't find a reason not to spend some time in prayer in such beautiful places. I prayed for family and friends, and I prayed for Point - especially our students, and especially the 30 students on this trip. I prayed for my country and the very confusing election cycle we are currently witnessing. It wasn't a "mission trip" in the normal sense of that word, but it was missional, if "missional" can include exposure to the world in a way that prepares one for effectively bearing witness of our faith that in Christ, and Christ alone, there is hope for the world. Our students listened along the journey of this ten day venture to Europe - and I'm confident they have a better sense of what following Jesus must look like than before they left the airport in Atlanta for Rome.
One more added benefit - I was one of four faculty members on the trip. The other three were Holly Carey, who teaches in the area of biblical studies; Jenn Craft, who teaches in the area of humanities and biblical studies, and Sarah Huxford, who teaches in the area of communication. The three of them are in the early years of teaching at Point, and of course I am on the other end of that spectrum. It is so encouraging to me to realize that not only have I worked with great colleagues these 40 years at Point, but there are outstanding young faculty members - like these three and many others - who will continue to believe that educating students for Christ-centered service and leadership throughout the world is a worthwhile way to spend one's life!
Now - back to work, I have two classes this afternoon and one tonight.
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