257 Kendall Street
Burlington, WI 53105
(262) 763-3021
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We have purchased land on Highways A & W and are planning to build soon! Drive by and take a look at our future home!
“A good teacher is like a candle - it consumes itself to light the way for others.”
February 21st, 2010
What a joy to have so many teachers with us today as our special guests. Thank you for allowing us the opportunity to both thank you and honor you!
All of us can look back on those who made a contribution in making us who we are today. John Donne was right, “No man is an island...” We come into this life as blank slates. Everything we know is learned and more often than not, taught to us by someone else. How thankful we are for those who systematically, organizationally and consistently invest their lives in teaching us. Obviously, our parents are our first teachers. They, though, have a personal stake in our development. Teachers, however, are usually unrelated to us and yet, hour after hour, day after day, week after week and month after month, they pour themselves into their charges.
Personally, I am so thankful for the teachers that God used to influence my life. Mrs. Elizabeth Parkerson, my second grade teacher, was kindness personified. It was she who introduced me to the world of books and the library. When I was a child, my nose was nearly always in a book. Her influence cultivated in me a love for history and biographies that has never been quenched.
Then, there was Mrs. Martha Jarrell. I had her in both fourth and sixth grades. I’d never won anything until Mrs. Jarrell’s class where I won the writer of the year award. She cut my teeth on words and a love for the English language, and I have loved to write ever since.
Mr. Dan Lee was a man’s man. He was one of the strongest men that I had ever met, and yet his love for God was just as strong. He was one of the first men to cross my path who was very athletic and yet also very committed to Jesus Christ. He was not only my teacher but my first coach.
Dr. David Capetz took a special interest in me and took me under his wing as I worked through the loss of my mother and dealt with my father’s addictions. He was more than just a teacher, he was my friend.
Mr. David Hershberger had the patience of Job. His dry wit and genial spirit made every one of his classes one of the highlights of the day. In college, he was one of the first professors who impressed upon us the importance of deadlines. You could not turn in a late paper to him. It was a vital life skill that he knew we would need in adulthood and ministry. It’s not quite kosher to stand before a congregation on a Sunday morning and explain, “Well, I would have a sermon ready for you today but the dog ate my notes.” He urged us to seek excellence and would not accept mediocrity.
Dr. Richard Weeks taught me Pastoral Theology in Bible College. While I learned a lot from his classes, I learned more from his heart. When Dr. Weeks opened in prayer at the beginning of class, you felt like you were stepping right into the presence of Jesus. He was a small man. I don’t think that he was even five feet tall but he was a giant of the faith. I cannot remember him ever uttering an unkind word. His love for the Lord and His Word made an indelible impression on me.
And Dr. James Grier in seminary stretched me so that my wee brain could never quite return to its original smallness. Sitting in his class and seeking to absorb all of the material was a bit like attempting to get a drink from a fire hose. The man had forgotten more theology than most of us will ever know and yet he was so humble and so gracious. I remember some years later when he was in our home and the kindness he showed to our children.
There are countless others, far too many to name. Like many of you, I am who I am because they were willing to invest their lives in me. In a world that too often has super stars rather than heroes, teachers are often the true heroes. Many of them do not just teach. They invest their lives! It’s not a job, it’s a calling.
Thanks so much for joining us today and allowing us the opportunity to thank you! Our lives are richer because of your selfless investment in us!