“I slept and dreamt that life was joy. I awoke and saw that life was service. I acted and behold, service was joy.” ― Rabindranath Tagore
Then Jesus said to His disciples, “If anyone wishes to come after Me, he must deny himself, and take up his cross and follow Me. For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it; but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it.” – Matthew 16:24-25
Faculty Service as discussed in the faculty handbook describes the interrelationship of the service commitment as it works in harmony with the mission of the University:
“A faculty member’s service is directly related to the university’s mission statement. Service should grow out of his or her academic and professional commitments, as well as out of a generous understanding of Christian discipleship…”
Academic Service
I have actively sought leadership roles at ACU, both by volunteering and communicating a willingness to serve in administrative positions. However, none of these efforts resulted in a change in appointment. At first, I was unsettled by the lack of opportunity to use leadership skills I developed as a systems engineer and productivity improvement manager while in industry. I believe this was because, in industry, from my experience, positions were filled based on credentials and how human resources could be employed to enhance the bottom line profitability of the organization. Over time and with much prayer, I realized that leadership positions in academia are not necessarily profit driven and are often appointed based on needs-based criteria guided by the University and the judgment of decision makers who answer to God in their leadership. I therefore considered these outcomes and decided to trust in God’s choice of a path for me that glorifies Him versus my personal ambition to serve.
I had the opportunity to talk with two ACU board members, who, from their perspective, shed light on the sovereign will of God in life events. From one, I learned to consider that leadership for women is different and requires a choice of both great sacrifice and potential role identification challenges. From the other, I learned that there are distinct differences between being a leader and being a manager. This second reflection has particularly guided my path at ACU where my life goal is to faithfully manage the resources entrusted in my care.
I believe I was born to serve. When I was in industry, we built teams based on Meyers Briggs evaluations of employee character traits and giftedness as they related to their ability to contribute to the goals of the company. From my personal evaluations, my strengths were revealed as those of service, being a faithful support person, a powerful right arm to the person in charge. Some may see this as an undesirable trait not to be the “lead dog” in the pack. However, I am at my best in service to support an individual or organizational goal. Although I did not know or understand the theories that informed the practice of resource management, through academic research, I have learned that these efforts strategically align with theory, such as the Resource Based View (RBV) of the firm as referenced in Jay Barney’s seminal article, “Firm Resources and Sustained Competitive Advantage” (1991), and Edith Penrose’s 1959 book The Theory of the Growth of the Firm. While at Arizona State University, I took a class from Michael Hitt, who at that time was the most cited management scholar in academe. Mike personally shared his experience integrating industry practices with academic theory, and also promoted RBV in his research. Jay’s work, along with Mike’s contributions, are seen as pivotal in the emergence of the resource-based view of the firm in maximizing resource allocation to optimize firm strategy.
From an academic perspective, these experiences add relevance to my choice to attend and participate in the Academy of Management annual conferences. In 2016, the MSR interest group asked Jay to be the plenary speaker, where he talked about his spiritual journey in life and in his research. Mike Hitt has attended almost every year since our first meeting in 2001, and still uses his time to mentor young researchers and encourage them to conduct honest, credible research while, at the same time, putting your family first and foremost in every decision. To see scholarship at its best supported by people in their respective walk in Christ has been pivotal in guiding my service choices over the years.
Based on these and other experiences, my desire is to intentionally incorporate theory into practice. In doing so, I employ an action research methodology in my service to both organizations and communities. I have administered evaluations for entrepreneurial potential as well as spiritual gift inventories to help employees adopt an ownership of their work environment for the greater good of everyone in the organization. I observed the beauty of this as guided by J-Robert Ouimet when incorporating spiritual principles throughout every system in his corporation and in his community service efforts. I particularly learned what this would mean in my scholarship choices under the advice of Monty Lynn in what it means to be full professor. Such wisdom has informed decisions and my path in moving through the professorial ranks.
Community Service
I have come to realize that my greatest area of community service has been to demonstrate a true faith in God in the midst of trouble. As examples, in 2007, during our first full year back in Abilene, my son told us that, while playing high school football, a referee told him to “Watch it, black boy,” when he tried to explain what caused a penalty on the field. From 2007 to 2010 my older son said he had never heard the “N” word used so many times before coming here, and, as a result, decided to transfer to Iowa State. In 2011, a campus police officer who was trying to hide his abusive family history told me that someone needed to “put me in my place” after I brought outcomes of his life before the eldership of the Church. As a result, he used his police connections to turn the legal system against us.
Sometimes our greatest contribution in the area of Service is to walk by faith when everything else tells us to give up.
We have chosen to stay in Abilene and at ACU to serve. There are always many personally gratifying options when it comes to serving self. However, in Christ, there is only one choice in serving God.
More details of my personal service can be found in the expanded links under the Service header menu.