PRESIDENT’S PERSPECTIVE
READY TO GO:
IT’S MORE THAN OUR CAMPAIGN— IT’S OUR CALLING
Matt Proctor
I love watching heroes-in-the-making. Of course, I always wanted to be a hero-in-the-making. As a child, I was profoundly unheroic, a glasses-wearing nerdy kid with pencil-thin arms and a paper-thin chest. Do you remember the old TV show Family Matters? I was a white Steve Urkel. But when Superman swooped into the theaters (the 1978 Christopher Reeve classic), my eight-year-old imagination was captured! I too wanted to fly like the Man of Steel, bend iron bars with my bare hands, and watch bullets bounce off my massive Kryptonian chest. Mostly, I wanted pectorals big enough to handle that giant red S. At age eight, my chest could only handle skinny letters like a lowercase l or i.1 Alas, I never became that hero, so instead I watched others become heroic. I tuned in to the TV show Smallville as young Clark Kent gradually came of age and donned the cape. I watched Young Indiana Jones to follow the formation of the future Nazifighter and Young Sherlock Holmes to see a teenage stripling slowly become the super sleuth. Over twelve years and twenty-some films, Marvel Studios told the story of a band of heroes—the Avengers—who battle evil to save the world. But here’s what I kept going to the theater to watch: each hero struggling to become who they were meant to be. If you’ve seen the movies, you know: Peter Parker grows from tentative teenager to seasoned Spiderman. Black Widow transforms from deceptive spy to loyal leader. Thor starts as arrogant heir to become humbled teammate. Bruce Banner moves from conflicted Jekyll-and-Hyde to integrated Professor Hulk, and Tony Stark matures from selfish playboy into sacrificial protector. Those movies made over $20 billion, so maybe I’m not the only one who likes watching heroes-in-the-making.
Kingdom Workers Under Construction
Marvel, of course, borrowed their plot from an older, truer tale. The New Testament tells the story of Jesus, but it also tells of a band of heroes—the Apostles—who battle evil to save the world. In Acts 2, we see them filled with supernatural power to begin preaching in Jerusalem, driving back the kingdom of darkness. Eventually (church tradition tells us) that battle takes Philip to North Africa, Thomas to India, Matthew to Iran, Andrew to “the land of the man-eaters” in Russia, John to Asia Minor, Paul to Greece, and Peter to Rome. They go with the gospel on their lips and the Spirit in their hearts, and ultimately they “turn the world upside down.” (Acts 17:6)
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TO INSPIRE
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Aaron Brockett (OCC 98) preaches at Traders Point Christian Church in Indianapolis, Indiana.
But first, each had his own life turned upside down. The recent television series The Chosen tells the story of Christ, but part of the series’ power is its portrayal of the apostles’ transformation. The famous followers aren’t yet ready for their world-changing task, so Jesus shepherds and shapes them. We watch as: • James and John learn to let go of ethnic prejudice to see all races through Jesus’ eyes. • Simon the Zealot lays aside political fervor to embrace Jesus’ mission. • Mary Magdalene overcomes past trauma to receive Jesus’ healing. • Matthew matures from insecure outsider to confident companion of Christ. • Simon Peter grows from self-trusting survivor to Jesustrusting martyr. Jesus spent his three-year ministry refining these future faith leaders, and every time I watch an episode of these kingdom workers under construction, I think of our students at Ozark. This fall we again welcomed hundreds of students who want to “go and make disciples of all nations.” Over the last twenty-five years, I’ve watched our students—like the apostles themselves— take the gospel to the globe: Kentucky and Kenya, New York and New Zealand, Boston and Beijing, Alabama and Afghanistan. I’m confident these 2021 freshmen will someday continue that worldchanging mission.
John Ortberg, The Life You’ve Always Wanted, Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 1997.
