Meet the Prof

This story represents some ramblings facts I've not often though about, or ever wrote about. Maybe as I write, I'll figure out where I'm going.



Methodist's believe in something they call "Prevenient Grace." (Although I consider myself a Christian, rather than a Methodist, I am currently a member at a Methodist Church so some of that Methodist stuff is rubbing off on me.) Wikipedia states the following, "Prevenient grace is divine grace which precedes human decision." So when I ramble on, and think about my ramblings from a prevenient grace perspective, I have to wonder - Did God have something to do with all of this?



I grew up in a small town on Vancouver Island, British Columbia. There was no expectation to go on to college, so I not really sure why I did. Somehow I knew I did not want to work in the mills that most of the adults I knew worked in. The pay was good, and most of the jobs not too difficult, but I decided to go on to university. In fact, I don't why I did so much homework as a kid, but I did - not absolutely huge amounts, but more than the average kid.



In elementary school I was a pretty good student. In 8th grade I went to high school (it was close enough to walk to, so I was not bussed to a Jr. high). I struggled with math in 8th grade, so most days after school I went to the library to work on math problems. I started the year with about a C- average and was probably up to B+ by the end of the year. By grade 12, I was the best math student in the class. This experience makes me believe that if you work at math, you can learn it. I draw terribly - I'm not sure that if I worked on drawing I would ever get good at it, though I'm sure I would get better. Why does this matter? I suppose I believe that through consistent work you can get better at things. If most students applied themselves they would do well academically. So like most professors, I wish more of my students would work harder at their classes.



I've always been a saver, and implicitly thought in business terms. I suppose I thought that a good christian does not think that way, so when I went to university, it never crossed my path to think about studying business. My undergraduate degree is in forest management.



I grew up in a Christian home. We went to the local Baptist church every Sunday, and when out of town visited a church. I never saw my Dad (or mom for that matter) touch alcohol or heard a cuss word. Canada is much less religious country than the US so I was not 100% comfortable with the going to church thing, but I liked a lot of it. Growing up Baptist means I heard a lot about the need to make a personal commitment of faith, and tried it a few times with a little second guessing of whether it actually stuck.