Fall 2001 State of the University Address
Like a Tree Planted
Faculty/Staff Kickoff
Jon R. Wallace, DBA, president
August 30, 2001
This is the third occasion in the last five months when I have stood in front of the APU community to read the following verse. The first was on the April 4 at my inauguration. The next time was at the Day of Prayer on July 2. And the third is tonight. I am so encouraged by the picture of health, spiritual vitality, and meaningful harvest Jeremiah paints for those of us who place God First with our trust, our hope, and our confidence. My hope for Azusa Pacific University, and for each of us individually, is that we would be like this picture of a strong and healthy tree, a community of disciples and scholars within higher education that evidences growth as Christians, scholars, community builders, and servants.
Blessed are those who trust in the Lord and have made the Lord their hope and confidence. They are like trees planted along a riverbank, with roots that reach deep into the water. Such trees are not bothered by the heat or worried by long months of drought. Their leaves stay green, and they go right on producing delicious fruit. Jeremiah 17:7-8
The Giant Sequoia grows naturally only here in California on the western slope of the Sierra Nevada Mountains. These trees are considered the largest living things on earth. The oldest is believed to be a 2,700-year-old tree named “Grizzly Giant,” that grows in Yosemite National Park’s Mariposa Grove. The largest is the “General Sherman” in Sequoia National Park. The volume of wood in the General Sherman is estimated to be sufficient to build five 1,500-square-foot homes. It stands 275 feet tall with a circumference of 102 feet. Some of these great trees have bark four feet thick and bottom branches 100 feet off the ground. A number of these bottom branches are larger in circumference than the trunk of any tree east of the Mississippi. Although the Coastal Redwood grows taller, the sheer mass of the Giant Sequoia sets it apart as the largest living thing. These giants start life as a seed that is smaller than a grain of wheat and generally requires the intense heat of a fire to crack the hard outer shell so that they will propagate. Anyone who has had the opportunity to stand next to one of these great wonders of God’s creation will attest to a sense of awe at their presence.
I think the Giant Sequoia is the perfect image of the tree Jeremiah uses as a metaphor for those of us who have fully placed our trust, our hope, and our confidence in God. The prophet’s words, “like trees planted,” suggest an intentional placement by God to grow where He plants us. I believe each one of us who has responded to the leading of the Holy Spirit in our lives has accepted this planting by God in the soil of Azusa Pacific University. The truth is that I have felt the same sense of awe and wonder by observing the example of men and women who have lived “like trees planted” in their life and ministry—Christ-followers who willingly dedicated their gifts and abilities to a trustworthy God and in the face of risk and uncertainty placed their confidence in Him to grow them up where He planted them. Our own history as a Christian university is full of these kinds of disciples. So too, is the history of the Church.
Tonight Dr. Duane Funderburk led us in learning about a Lutheran organist, church musician, and choirmaster, Johann Sebastian Bach, widely considered to be one of the greatest composers of western music. He was, in his life and work, “like a tree planted.” He demonstrated a true genius at composition and unique insight at bringing the truth of the incarnation into the daily existence of his parishioners. He is for us an example of a dedicated Christ-follower fully trusting God with his gifts, and in return, pointing all who would listen to the reality of God’s plan for redemption.
In June, I was privileged to be a participant in the Faculty Seminar in the Liberal Arts sponsored by the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences. This was the sixth year for the seminar and, to be truthful, I was somewhat intimidated at the thought of participating. The course content of most of the previous seminars had been the Great Books. This time it was a great work of music, the St. Matthew Passion by Bach. Many of you who know me are aware that I do have a wonderful appreciation of music; it just tends to be mostly Country Western. More than a month ahead of the seminar, each of us enrolled received reading material and a three-set CD. You see, the St. Matthew Passion is more than three hours long and is recorded in German. I determined that as untrained as I am in classical music, I would work hard to prepare for the week, let go of as much of my fear as possible, and become a student again.
So, several weeks ahead of the first day of the seminar, I started a process of adding the listening of the Passion to my morning quiet time while reading along with an English-German score. I discovered, to my utter amazement and joy, a world of powerful and moving music supported with lyrics lifted right out of Scripture. My family has now grown accustomed to hearing Bach pour from the stereo in the family room, and I have truly become one of the converted. In addition to the study of the St. Matthew Passion, we explored the life and times of Bach and tried to place ourselves in his historical context. Each day we would spend time divided into our two study groups and at some point would come together with Duane and other music faculty doing just what we did tonight.
