February 1, 2016
MARSHALL, Texas (2/1/16) - The 2016 Meyer Lecture Series went on as planned on Monday, Jan 25 at East Texas Baptist University even though the keynote speaker, Peter Greer, President of Hope International, could not attend. Meyer was unable to travel to Texas due to the northeastern snowstorm.
"Mr. Greer's staff worked hard to find a means of travel to East Texas, but things did not come together as we had hoped," said ETBU President Dr. Blair Blackburn. "By praying, I was led to make the decision that this year's Meyer Lecture was not to be affected by a winter storm, thus we forged ahead with the 'missional' focus for this year's lecture."
ETBU's Dr. Emily Prevost delivered the keynote address in chapel. She is the universities Director of Ministry Guidance and Assistant Professor of Leadership in the Fred Hale School of Business.
Dr. Prevost used Deuteronomy chapter six as the foundation to teach how God's children are to live in order to be on mission with Him and not against.
"The people of Israel were about to embark on the next steps of their journey," said Dr. Prevost. "Here they are, finally about to enter the Promised Land. They were going in to take possession of something they had been told about for their entire lives."
She explained to the Chapel audience that disobedience had kept them away for 40 years but now the time for fulfillment of the promise had finally come. The instruction from Moses, given to him by God, would keep the present generation from not being like the previous one.
"And so, one last set of instructions before they go into to realize their God-given vision of all that could be," she shared. "If you will listen and obey, it will go well with you. Here is the instruction, the one word to wrap it all up, in a neat little package with a bow."
Then she recited Deuteronomy 6:5, "The Lord our God, the Lord is one. Love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your strength."
"When Jesus arrives on the scene in the New Testament He says, this verse, this command, is the one most important command because it wraps up all the others," Prevost said. "If we love and obey... everything else God intends for us to do will fall into place."
The Meyer Lectures undergird the mission of the University, Great Commission Center and the Fred Hale School of Business by encouraging students at ETBU to see themselves as kingdom citizens whose calling is to serve Christ through their respective vocations.
As part of the Meyer Lectureship, a luncheon was held in the Woods Great Room of the Ornelas Spiritual Life Center attended by ETBU faculty, staff and guests. Dr. Blackburn invited those in attendance to share what the mission of ETBU means to them, with many coming to the podium to speak.
"In athletics, as coaches we make sure that we are ministering to our student athletes," said ETBU Director of Athletics Kent Reeves. "We want to make sure that they leave this place, not only being better athletically with the body, not only smarter in the classroom with the mind, but make sure that we as coaches complete that triangle and we touch their hearts."
Dr. Sargent, a professor in the Department of Teacher Education, shared, "I believe the mission for every single teacher that we train is for them to bring the Kingdom of God into their classroom. We try to instill the love of scripture and the image of Christ's servanthood in them. The vocation of teaching is challenging. The only way they can survive in the public school classroom is to have strong faith."
"What is great about this job and the faculty I work with is everything is under the context of not what I want to do but what I am supposed to do and be ready for service. When the Lord knocks on the door, we are ready," said Dr. Will Walker, associate professor of Kinesiology and a graduate of ETBU. "I'm not just preparing my students for a job, I hope that I am helping them find God's path for their lives. That is something that is unique to ETBU and that is one of the reason why I want to work here."
ETBU Assistant Vice President for Communications and Marketing Vince Blankenship graduated from ETBU in 1985. He has been working at ETBU for 20 years. Blankenship shared how he is asked often by fellow students during his time as a student as well as from other alumni, "does ETBU still feel the same?" The feeling they are talking about is the presence of God on campus.
"That feeling is still here because we have been true to the mission of being a Christ-centered university. It was true 30 years ago when I was a student and still today," said Blankenship.
Administrative secretary in the Office of Spiritual Development Wanda Daily shared, "My mission is to demonstrate and pour love on the students. As we pour that love on them, they go out into the world and do what God has called them do because we have shown love to them."
ETBU has rescheduled Greer to come on April 4, adding a part two to the Meyer Lecture Series. The Meyer Lecture series is made possible through the generosity of Houston businessman and ETBU trustee, Phillip Meyer. Meyer attended East Texas Baptist College from 1976-1978 before going to the University of Houston. Meyers has worked for over 30 years in Oil and Gas Products manufacturing and distribution.
East Texas Baptist University offers graduate programs in business, counseling, religion and education, as well as 40 undergraduate degree programs. ETBU provides a Christ- centered education that emphasizes the integration of faith and learning. The ETBU experience is known for "Embracing Faith, Engaging Minds, and Empowering Leaders." For information, visit www.etbu.edu.