Meeting Ed Christman
Thursday, August 12th, 2010 by TenleyShewmake
Thomas A. Bland, Jr. ’78
Among many vivid memories of Dr. Christman, I wish to share three, which for me illustrate his very significant ministry as Chaplain.
First, as an entering freshman in August 1974, I found myself in awe of what impressed me as the austere, dignified persona of each member of the faculty and administration whom I encountered. While I admired this quality a great deal, and had seen it in several of the legendary professors emeriti whom I had grown up observing in their retirement years in my hometown of Wake Forest, NC, I also found it intimidating. It was as if the collective, rather stoic and staid, personality, with all the great traditions, of ‘Dear Old Wake Forest’ were embodied in each of these persons! Dr. Christman (I do not think that I have ever called him “Ed”) shared this characteristic, too, especially when I saw him “in action” at official University events and ceremonies, particularly those that occurred in Wait Chapel. But in Dr. Christman, there was always a difference. And that difference he established for me very early in my first semester, in that whenever he met me on the sidewalk, though he could not have known who I was, he invariably spoke a word of greeting! Not so much time passed before he began to call me by my first name–I have no idea how he came to know it! But amidst all the gravity, if you will, of that wonderful Wake Forest ethos, there shined through Dr. Christman’s face and eyes an element of agape, which I did not know much about at the time, and which I hardly realized I was starved for. He never knew–but those were what I later came to understand as sacramental moments.
Second, also from my first semester, I recall very clearly what a dedicated athlete Dr. Christman was. In the course of taking freshman Physical Education, I (and many others) would encounter him quite often around the University track–running, returning from a long run, or warming up to run. While, over time, I encountered other members (a few) of the faculty and administration in that setting, Dr. Christman’s constancy and unflagging determination set a great example for me and for my classmates. We had no excuses anymore not to run, for the class and for ourselves. More generally, the sight of him out there so often inspired me with a sense that I could push myself to try new things, to excel in areas of life that (to some, perhaps) I appeared ill-equipped for.
Third is a memory that stems from my junior year, specifically from the rather harsh winter of 1977. I remember how very kind Dr. Christman was to me when, finally, I responded to an overture from him in the form of a card he had sent to me. I made an appointment to see him in his office, and there, with some guardedness at first on my part, I laid before him what I saw at the time as my challenges and aspirations. My mother had died at the end of my freshman year, an event that frankly colored all of the rest of my time at Wake Forest, but a tragedy that I was very hesitant to discuss in depth with almost everyone, especially members of the clergy. But I remember from that cold day the warmth that Dr. Christman extended to me as, gradually, in the course of that conversation, I opened up and shared something of that pain, along with whatever else, of a more trivial nature, happened to be on my mind. He gave me a greater gift that day than he ever realized — a willingness simply to listen and not to judge. I have never forgotten his simple kindness to me, and I have tried in my years of ministry to extend it to others who, perhaps with even greater guardedness, have finally sought me out and shared whatever they needed to with me.
There is an old saying: “the Good Lord does have a sense of humor.” I never possibly could have imagined, during my years at Wake Forest, that, after a long and rarified journey through two graduate degrees (at Chapel Hill), God would call me into the Christian ministry, specifically as a “Baptist preacher!” Though I have not seen Dr. Christman in a number of years, I am thankful that our paths have crossed a sufficient number of times since I have been a pastor for me to thank him for the simple, but incredibly significant, things that he did for me so many years ago. And I am grateful that I can look back on all of my ministry “role models,” shocked though some of them might be to see me today, and count Dr. Ed Christman as one of the most prominent ones!” Thomas A. Bland, Senior Minister, First Baptist Church, Morganton, NC.
Add CommentI was in Fifth Grade
Thursday, August 12th, 2010 by TenleyShewmake
I met Carolyn at school and for years we were inseparable horse obsessed friends. Fortunately we lived within walking distance of one another and were able to spend lots of time playing. You had a snappy Ford Fairlane and lived in the apartment on Faculty Drive. I remember the door knobs being solid, heavy, maybe aluminum. I thought of them as industrial. Being 10 years old was the BEST. Thanks Jean for taking your turn in the car pool rotation out to Cedar Hollow Farms, and thanks too, for being so tolerant and kind when I was a brat about washing the dishes!
1 Comment