A Wild and Delightful Thing

The Cape Fear River, and My Response to an Inquiry, "Tell us about your professional life."

I was recently asked to provide a summary of my career. These are my thoughts. It is the height of vain glory to suppose anyone is interested in my story. Yet, we humans are quirky creatures. We are captivated by the lives of others while insisting that my business is none of yours. Of course, any salacious tidbit is eagerly consumed. It makes us feel a bit better about ourselves (until we turn into the tidbit). There will be no tidbits here, as the requester wanted me to stick to career stats. I find that difficult since I understand my life in Christ as the primary mover of all other personal or professional initiatives. The Gospel Law of grace and love is also the judge of my regrettable shortcomings.

Nevertheless, sharing my response to the inquirer might offer a glimpse into how one might construct a professional narrative. Of course, it could be how not to do so. That is up to you, the reader. The Lord bless you. Thus, what follows is my attempt to respond to the request: “Please provide a summary of your life’s work and your professional roles?”

My Response

I am a filthy sinner saved by grace and called to proclaim the Gospel of Jesus Christ that I once blasphemed. All other roles and relationships flow from that essential identity. Once that anchor is lowered, one can mark the other vectors on the journey. In so many ways, my life, thus far, is akin to The Hero with a Thousand Faces (Joseph Campbell, 1949). That is to say that the path of my days resembles yours. The monomyth is personalized and contextualized. Regarding my work, I’m uneasy with the phrase “professional life,” but I understand it. Here’s how I would tell mine.

The path of my life and career, which cannot be separated, can be traced like one follows the course of the Cape Fear River, the legendary river in North Carolina that has inspired so many books and films. I appreciate the prose of author Phillip Gerard on the meaning of the Cape Fear:

The Cape Fear River is more than just a certain volume of water coursing along a muddy track, more even than a sum of acreage drained by its tributaries.

It’s a living stream, a wild and delightful thing. A breathless story.¹

Beautifully put. But let me be clear: my life is not a “breathless thing.” But life is. And one’s professional life might be considered a “living stream.” And so, like the Cape Fear, my professional life has moved through various phases, sometimes taking surprising turns, but always with a clear and determined attitude towards the sea. This purpose is understood by the river, even if it is only sometimes apparent to the observer. It is also easier to assess the Cape Fear River’s intent by looking at it from an airplane. And so it is with our lives, including the record of our service. Such self-awareness is laudable, even if mostly inaccessible.

The confluence of the Haw River and the Deep River marks the birth of the majestic Cape Fear, just as a surprising call marked the beginning of my journey in life. A vocation, unforeseen yet undeniably compelling, beckoned me to a path that I had never imagined. The merging of these rivers symbolizes the meeting of two forces that create something greater than themselves, like the convergence of my calling and my existence, resulting in a purpose that transcends my wildest dreams. After experiencing personal catastrophes that prevented me from answering the call, and despite my shortcomings in trying to stop the inevitable, I was ultimately saved by the One who called. The Lord brought a remarkable cast of characters to help at just the right time with the gifts needed to keep me moving in the right direction. Some characters tried to obstruct the river’s flow, but a few wise individuals emerged to conquer fear and folly with their faith and wisdom (my wife, the Reverend Robert E. Baxter, and Professor Zef Nekaj). I may not be standing at the majestic mouth of the Cape Fear River, which merges with the vast sea, but I can see the Memorial Bridge from where I stand. In other words, I am currently closer to the sea than where I began. I hesitate to say that I have reached the end, but rather that I stand at the threshold of the vast and infinite ocean of completeness. Being in this place reminds me of the guiding hand of providence that has led me to this moment and fills me with deep gratitude for the divine grace that has accompanied me on my voyage. 

I will now provide the necessary details that usually denote, if not define, the twists and turns of the river. Let’s start with education.

I hold a Ph.D. in Theology from the University of Wales, an MPA from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, an MDiv from Knox Seminary, a DMin in Higher Education from Erskine Seminary, and a Higher Education Teaching Certificate from Harvard University. With deep gratitude, I recall receiving my BA from MidAmerica Nazarene University in Kansas. Yet, the life-changing encounter that gave me a “license to learn” began at the Defense Language Institute in Monterey, California. These academic tributaries converge to create a kind of marine life teeming with a love of learning, an appreciation for the incalculable value of mentors, and a commitment to cultivating the life of the mind in the service of God and His Kingdom.

Out of the life-giving pool of vocation and learning comes writing, research, preaching, art, music, and a life of expressiveness. I am the author of about forty books (as I write, some are awaiting publication). I have written for numerous peer-reviewed and professional journals, including the American Spectator, Carolina Journal, Christianity.com, and Preaching.com. I have created and produced five albums featuring my original music. I also share my faith through my artwork, which can be found at an online gallery. I pursue these forms of expression regardless of my current occupational assignment. However, I will now shift my focus to discussing my roles.

I am an ordained minister of the Presbyterian Church in America and have founded three churches and a Christian school. I also served as the senior pastor of a large, historic downtown congregation. In addition to my ministry work, I retired from the US Army after serving as a Chaplain (Colonel) for thirty-two years. The life of military service began at age seventeen when I signed on with the Navy. I became a top-secret Navy linguist with responsibilities related to a Marxist-Stalinist country in Eastern Europe. One might look at the river’s route and conclude, “This fellow was obsessively active,” or “He was terribly distracted.” One view suggests a psychological impulse, which I cannot comment on. The other view is wrong. I was not distracted by several simultaneous pursuits but entirely intentional, and here is why: I sought to combine several roles to “do the work of an evangelist” (2 Timothy 4:5), and thus, I balanced pastoral ministry and chaplain ministry with a life of academic service. I served as interim president and professor at Knox Seminary (1996-1998), a professor at Erskine Seminary (1998-present), and as president and chancellor-CEO of Reformed Seminary (2007-2014). I have been privileged to teach various graduate and postgraduate courses at numerous universities and institutions. Some courses I have taught include Bible, Christian education, church history, communication, pastoral counseling, military history, theology, economics, public administration, sociology of religion, leadership, pastoral ministry, elocution, and ethics. The institutions where I have taught include Belhaven University, Lancaster Bible College, University of Tirana in Albania, Emmanuel College in Cambridge, Hindustan Bible Institute, Union School of Theology (Bridgend, Wales), and Presbyterian Theological Seminary in India. These are in addition to the longer-term relationships at Knox Seminary, Reformed Seminary, and Erskine Seminary.

Additionally, I have taught as a certified instructor at the US Army Chaplain Center and School. Beyond academia, I am honored to serve as the President and Senior Fellow of Faith for Living, Inc., a nonprofit ministry dedicated to nurturing Christian leaders and pastors. Additionally, I lead the D. James Kennedy Institute of Reformed Leadership, a program designed to equip church leaders for effective ministry. 

Leadership is servanthood to the point of self-sacrifice. And that definition of leadership is unquestionably and happily unoriginal, just the way I would want it to be. If I wanted to know the value of one’s leadership, I would prefer to speak with the custodian rather than the chairman of the board or to the administrative assistant, more so than a departmental head. A leader values and empowers every member of the body to accomplish the mission to seek the vision that lifts the burden.

Of course, I have not written about the most critical legacy one will leave: one’s faithfulness to those closest. Yet, your request calls for a professional summary. For me, it is impossible to categorize life into rooms: one for family, one for faith, or one for work. One necessarily informs the other, and work, especially Gospel work, rests on the secure bedrock of one’s relationship with one’s wife and children. Faithfulness to God and one’s family will be the legacies that last, not work. God will judge the authenticity of the things I have shared here. 

The river flows. And flows. And when I am out to sea, more currents will come after me, much more robust, purer, and capable of irrigating the land I could not. To state things like this can be pure faux humility. On the other hand, recognizing one’s replaceable status is, in a way, an act of self-interest. Neither false humility nor self-interest sound very good. Yet, I have a self-interest in knowing my temporary place, for there is a mystical comfort to one’s soul in accepting the inescapable truth for all rivers: that I am just passing through.

References

Campbell, Joseph. The Hero with a Thousand Faces (Paladin Books). United Kingdom: Fontana, 1993.

Gerard, Philip. Down the Wild Cape Fear: A River Journey Through the Heart of North Carolina. New Caledonia: University of North Carolina Press, 2013.

1. Phillip Gerard, Down the Wild Cape Fear, 4.