A Reflection on Pen, Parchment, and Professors
Dear Reader,
I have a question for you: How many college and seminary graduates can say that they recognize the signatures on their diploma and that they’re known by those who signed it?
Second question: Do you know the people in your classes and do they know you?
If you’re a student or graduate of Bethlehem, you can read the name and know that you’re known.
Imagine, if you will, that you visit me in my office here at Bethlehem Seminary. As you walk in through the door, you notice warm lighting, a Bible on a stand on a small table next to a rustic looking lamp, framed pictures of my family and the outdoors, a small sofa, a few old radios, a fraction of my library on the shelves, and two diplomas hanging on the wall one above the other.
One diploma recognizes my Bachelor of Science Degree in Aeronautics and double minor in Aviation Safety and Human Factors. The one above it is more special than the first because I know the men who signed it. Men I grew to know personally—whom I learned from face to face—conferred on me my Master of Divinity degree from Bethlehem Seminary.
Indeed, the first diploma is no less valuable since it signifies a major milestone of achievement in my life. The fact is that degree opened doors to opportunities I never could have imagined, but I never met the two signers, nor do I know their names. In all honesty, I can’t read their signatures to figure out who they are! Thus is the nature of distance and large university education.
What makes my Master of Divinity diploma special to me is the four signatures on it—Sam Crabtree, John Piper, Joe Rigney, and Brian Tabb.
To varying extents, I know all four of these men, and they know me. Sam and Brian are members of my church, and I see them regularly. They know my name, my wife’s name, my daughters’ names, and sons-in-law’s names, my interests, my tendencies, my strengths and weaknesses. I know their wives’ and kids’ names, and we watch the kids grow. I’ve learned from and worked with these men in and outside the classroom. Both men shaped me, and we continue to live as the body of Christ.
Joe was instrumental in helping me glorify and enjoy God through the eyes of Edwards, Lewis, and Piper, and he helped my cohort brothers and me think through eschatology (whether we agreed with him or not). He knows my name, my tendencies, my family.
John Piper knows my name too. He was my preaching professor. We sat in the same classroom. He taught me how to herald and proclaim God’s word, and now we work together to some measure. We greet and update each other at Chapel on Wednesdays.
These signatures also represent a four-year journey filled with discoveries, successes, losses, debates, corrections, and victories with eighteen other cohort brothers and their families. In fact, when I recall how much the Lord did over those four years—how he remained faithful, merciful, abounding in steadfast love, working all things together for good, and how he saw every one of us through trials and sustained us through losses and gains of life—I can see a certain measure of maturity that continues to deepen through trial, diligence, and being sharpened by each other, pastors, and church members in person.
Knowing and interacting with the men who signed my diploma is special to me because they know me and I know them. I also have lifelong friends because we invested four years doing life together.
Jon Hedger, M.Div. ’21
Director of Seminary Discipleship
Prayer Requests:
- Pray for our graduates as they launch into life and ministry.
- Pray for our students and faculty as they rest, minister, and work this summer.
- Pray for the full funding of the Serious Joy Scholarships needed by June 30.