Great Profs I have known or Known of

It is a great job being a prof.  I know that you may be getting a bit weary of hearing me say that over and over, but it is true.  Recently I wrote about C.S. Lewis’s home near Oxford, England.  Lewis has impacted millions, and certainly has impacted me.  But other profs have also made some major contributions to Christianity and to me.

The first name that leaps to mind is the late Professor Howard Hendricks, known to most students simply as “Prof”.  I only heard Hendricks speak a few times, but I quote him constantly, and he has had a huge impact on some of my decisions – such as the one not to retire.

The late Dr. Joe Smith, a professor of Exercise Physiology at UA, was instrumental in hiring me at UA and patiently showed me the ropes early on.

Dr. Archie Wade was the first black faculty member at UA.  I taught with Archie for many years, and had lunch with him just over a year ago. Archie’s many stories, and stories about Archie told by others, have impacted many people.

Of course the very course of history has been impacted by profs like Plato, Aristotle, Newton, Pascal, and many others.  But of course the greatest, most influential professor of all times was Rabbi Jesus. As I have pointed out before, Jesus’s profession was NOT a carpenter, but rather a rabbi, a professor.  His impact goes without saying.

I would pray that all Christian Professors, me included, would do two things:  Pray like Jesus, teach like Jesus. We would do pretty well.