One of my campus pastors will be buried this Saturday. Pastor Larry Houff, who served as campus pastor at Wittenberg University 1981-1997, died the Saturday before Thanksgiving following a long illness.
Campus ministry has to be one of the most grueling forms of ministry. Students can easily become distracted by the scholastic and social aspects of campus life, campus pastors must also be fundraisers, since college students aren’t big donors, not to mention that the entire “congregation” turns over every 4 years!
Even more than other ministries, work with college students has to be focused and direct. There is only limited time to intersect and interact with one another, so campus pastors strive to make every moment count. They are always inviting students to worship and activities, praying for students and their families, and seeking ways to support and encourage adolescents as they explore who they are becoming.
I can’t begin to name all the ways that Larry loved me deeper into Christian faith, but as I process my grief, here are a couple of instances that rise to the top:
- Larry welcomed me with open arms when I arrived on campus and immediately invited me into ministry leadership through choirs and percussion for a variety of worship moments.
- Larry and his wife Gundula regularly welcomed students into their home for meals, study groups, Epiphany celebrations, and more, helping to create a place of retreat and a home away from home.
- Larry led a trip to Israel, Egypt, and Jordan my junior year which opened the pages of Scripture and global faith to me. (See the photo of him preaching at sunrise on Mt. Sinai.) He provided pastoral care the night that I learned of my grandfather’s death while we were in Tiberius. His consolation and hope, there on the shores of Galilee, will forever shape the way I hope to be present in moments of death and dying.
- Larry welcomed and discipled my wife Tera into the Christian faith and was part of the splashing waters at her baptism service our senior year.
- Larry played the organ for and participated in our wedding celebration at Weaver Chapel.
- Larry baptized our now 18-year-old daughter Eden while we were in Ohio for her first Christmas.
Larry continued to invite me into holy moments, pray for me, my family, and my ministry endeavors, and encourage me long after I left the acreage in Springfield.
Make no mistake. Larry’s love and care for me, as well as other students, faculty, staff, prospective students, and former students, wasn’t grounded in his mood or because it was his job. Larry’s life had been altered by the love and forgiveness of Jesus and he couldn’t help but reach out to both friend and stranger with words of invitation, prayer, challenge, and encouragement.
1 Thessalonians says, “Encourage one another and build up each other, as indeed you are doing… Rejoice always, pray without ceasing” (5:11, 16-17).
As we wait for Jesus to come to us on Christmas, we are surrounded by friends and strangers. Who needs to hear about God’s story of love and redemption this season? Who needs a word of encouragement or hope? Who can you hold in prayer through the joys and sorrows of these days? Invite someone into the gift of Jesus, our peace. God is using you to change lives.
Living, sharing, and celebrating with you,
Pastor Lowell