Undergraduate Corner: Praying for First Impressions

On this blog, the first and third Tuesday of each month are dedicated to presenting discussion geared toward undergraduate students, in a series called, "Undergraduate Corner."


As you've probably guessed from the time of year and the lateness of this blog post, the Spring semester is about to begin! Mine begins tomorrow morning at 9:00 am.

And that means that I and other Christian professors get another chance to make a good first impression for the sake of the gospel. We know that a student's first impressions of a professor and the course largely determine his experience the rest of the semester. I often realize all too late into the term that I failed to show my students an honest representation of myself, and that my public witness has suffered because of it.

It's also a time, of course, for Christian students to make a successful first impression on their professors. It's very easy for a student to stand out at the beginning of the semester, simply by asking a question, visiting office hours the first day, e-mailing a question to the professor, or (as one of my students has already done) getting a head start on the first homework assignment.

So, let's pray for each other this week, as we all begin to learn new faces and names, as we forge new relationships that could serve as conduits for the gospel. Let's pray that we'll bear in mind that we don't want to ultimately be remembered as someone who got all the questions right, or spoke up every class, or wrote a killer term paper, but as people who are in love with a living savior, who respond eagerly to His call.