Photos by Ralph Freso / Slideshow / Livestream
Grand Canyon University Pastor Dr. Tim Griffin feels the early vibe around campus.
“How’s it going?” Griffin told a Monday Chapel audience at Global Credit Union Arena about the dialogue he’s heard during the first two weeks of classes.
“It’s going great. I’m so stoked for the year," he said.
However, the upbeat mood can lead to a false sense of security and confidence.
“Some students have decided they’re going to go their own way,” said Griffin, who also serves as dean of students and vice president of Student Affairs at GCU. “We already have students who have learned life lessons from their first week on campus.”
Griffin emphasized to students, “We want you to get off to a good start,” and doubled down by saying that all guest speakers for the fall semester have been asked to speak to a portion of the Sermon on the Mount, which serves as an introduction into following Jesus.
“Jesus is giving insight to how He wants us, as our followers, to see the world,” Griffin said.
During one summer, Griffin met a recently retired U.S. Marine Corps general whose final responsibilities were to develop and refine material to train Marines.
The general told a surprised Griffin that his simple mission during the first week consisted of getting pupils off the bus on Monday and making sure they march in line on Thursday and look to the left.
That was it.
“Sometimes we go too far,” Griffin said. “This is the beginning of the new school year. It’s important for those at some level to follow Jesus.”
Griffin, citing Matthew 5, shared that Jesus spent some of this time as a construction worker and learning his craft from his father, Joseph in Nazareth. The visualization hit home for Griffin, who led a group of 14 GCU students in a summer visit of the historical sites of Israel, including an old synagogue that Jesus likely worked on.
When Jesus turned 30, he started his public ministry with a baptism from John the Baptist and embarked on teaching the good of God’s kingdom, performing miracles and encountering enemies one on one that caught the attention of people all over the land who were interested in his message.
Griffin compared this to today’s world, saturated with accessibility to text messages and emails via devices that can be carried by hand, in purses or backpacks.
“What a wonderful gift it would be for yourself if you put your device away and said, ‘let’s go talk,’ “ Griffin said. “‘Let’s have lunch together. Let’s go grab a cup of coffee,’ instead of sitting at the table and texting each other, just have a human conversation, one on one.”
Griffin said he occasionally will have lunch at a campus eatery or stop at GCBC and sit by himself, only to be approached by a student, asking if he or she can join him.
“Absolutely,” Griffin said. “I want to be like Jesus in that way. I want to engage you. I want to have conversations. I want to learn from you.
“Jesus went on that hillside and sat down, and I think He communicated to them that He wanted to be with them. How important that it is that you communicate with one another? ‘I’m here for you. … .
“That is the way of Jesus.”
The second thing Griffin noticed about Matthew 5:2 was that Jesus’ disciples came to him at the hill, where He began to teach them.
“It’s one thing to sit down and have a conversation about everything under the sun,” Griffin said. “There’s nothing wrong with that. You build relationships, get to know people that way.
“But there are these moments when we need to pause and sit at the feet of Jesus to learn from Him. We want to be faithful to God’s word.”
Griffin challenged his students to adopt a mindset that would say, “God, I believe that if I follow what Jesus teaches, I will find true life.”
“I will find blessedness. I will find happiness, and I’m going to commit to that. I’m going to guard that mindset this semester, that I will find my happiness, satisfaction, my contentment, my joy, my blessedness in following Him.”
Griffin recalled he had no idea when he was 18 about making that commitment to following Jesus but now understands where true life comes from at this stage in his life.
“It’s the precious gift on knowing Jesus,” Griffin said. " ... He paid a debt you cannot pay.”
“I encourage you to find your life following Jesus and to guard that commitment for your own heart and your own mind that He would be the one that you remain devoted to this entire semester and see the blessedness that comes from that, the joy, the happiness that that comes from following Jesus and what He teaches.”
Next Monday’s Chapel: Noe Garcia, North Phoenix Church.
GCU News Senior Writer Mark Gonzales can be reached at [email protected]
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