Since I have been five years old my sense of years has been marked by September-to-June, not January through December. And that gives one a certain view of the world, rhythms of life, as well as a view of what success and failure in life look like.

Here is what my life-long rhythm-of-life has looked like:

  • Orientation in September
  • Convocation service (in robes)
  • Mid-term break
  • Exam week
  • Grade papers and holiday!
  • New term starts
  • Mid-term break
  • Exam week
  • Commencement (in robes)
  • Summer!

Soon we at Gordon-Conwell, like people across the nation, will have commencement—a word that describes a beginning—a strange word for people who are completing years of hard work. Of course, when you complete something, you are also starting something else. So, we celebrate 291 students who are commencing ministries, counseling, teaching, or missionary work. Some are “commencing” another degree either at Gordon-Conwell or another graduate school.

As I reflect on what it means to live according to the school calendar throughout the years of my life, many thoughts and emotions fill my mind.

Most of the people you spend time with you will never see again. This is the very sad part of working in a school or seminary. We get to know students for a year to four years (or, by extenuating circumstances, sometimes five or six years). Then you say goodbye. The memories are strong for a while, but then others come in and then others after them. After more than three decades of teaching, you reach a point where you remember clearly only about a few dozen of the thousands of students whose lives intersected with your own. There is a constant tension to be constantly welcoming good new people and letting go of other wonderful (now better educated and equipped) people.

And yet, there is great joy when I ponder the legacy of people with whom we’ve shared our journey. People like:

  • the pastor who knew he was called to ministry when he was eight years old and has not wavered from that calling
  • the person who received a call to serve the church after fifteen years in business
  • the friend who, after earning a PhD in tropical diseases, received a call to serve as a missionary in Asia
  • the missionary who, after serving in the Middle East, came to seminary and returned [to the Middle East?] with a growing ministry
  • the leader who, after working for a decade for Perkantas (IVCF, Indonesia), came to better prepare for a career evangelizing university students
  • the student who, while in seminary, received a clear call to care for folks in the military.
  • the pastor who served for years without having completed a BA but who was accepted to complete a master’s degree in Christian leadership
  • the graduate who has been working as a chaplain with professional sports teams

While we experience the pain of the annual loss as we watch people leave us, we also celebrate annual joy when we consider the scope and breadth of the ways our graduates are serving.

Living according to the school calendar is a constant reminder every commencement of those who have, well . . . commenced. We get letters from graduates. We support some who are missionaries. We are invited to speak at some of their churches. And we are aware that many suffer for the gospel. Their love of Christ has no bounds. Every year, as I shake hands of graduates, I am reminded again that there is a cost to discipleship, even for very well-educated disciples.

So, as I shake the hands of our graduates this week, with mixed thoughts and emotions, the prevailing sense will be gratitude that I have another year to thank God for the people who’ve passed through our hallways, from all types of tongues and tribes and nations, declaring the love of the Lamb that was slain and who sends us out to proclaim Good News and wipe away tears from eyes—as is the seminary’s vision, based on Revelation 7.

Dr. Scott W. Sunquist, president of Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary, is author of the “Attentiveness” blog. He welcomes comments, responses, and good ideas.