From the President: He leads me.

COLLECTING STORIES HAS BEEN A HOBBY of mine for decades, and in recent years, I have been especially blessed to hear how women and men have made their way to Bethany Peniel, Bethany Nazarene, and now Southern Nazarene University. Each story is unique, and they range from hitching a ride in a Volkswagen Beetle with a suitcase in her lap to opportunities to play basketball anywhere in the country, and would have, except for a mom praying for her son to choose a Christ-centered, which he did. Quite often I hear words like this, “I didn’t know it or understand it at the time, but I am certain God was leading me, and it has made all the difference in my life.”

DO YOU HAVE A SIMILAR STORY?

A youth pastor loaded up a van of teens and brought them to campus for Extravaganza during my sophomore year of high school. I give thanks for those youth sponsors and pastors and parents who still make the pilgrimage to Bethany for this important annual event. When I made my first visit to campus, college was not on my mind. No one in my family had ever earned an undergraduate degree, and my big interest at the time was trying to win a basketball tournament. Those were the days before the Webster Commons, the Marchant Alumni Center, the Sawyer Center, the West Science Building, or Chick Fil A! Though I enjoyed my time in Bethany, I never dreamed I would return again, and again, and again. But like others, I can testify that God was leading me, and He still leads me today.

The Bible I carried in those days was called The Way, and it was the Living Bible paraphrase. Though I didn’t know it at the time, I would learn a few years later that the earlier followers of Christ were known as the People of the Way. Still later I would discover that Scripture speaks often of the path and the way and promises that when we commit our way and trust Him with all our heart, He will lead. As you read the pages that follow, I know you will be inspired and give thanks for people of the way. May we continue to allow God to lead SNU “in paths of righteousness for His name’s sake.” (Psalm 23:3)